Chronicles of the Fox: The Darkness
by TheyCallMeArjun
Summary: Iruka was Naruto's salvation from the darkness that threatened to overwhelm him, but he happened to be one of the many casualties during the Kyuubi attack. Without that beacon of light, maliciousness clouds Naruto. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
1. Descent to Darkness

**I'm taking a shot at a long-term fanfiction. Let's hope I don't screw the pooch on this one. Seriously, it'll be pretty damn abysmal if I do.**

_**(Edited)**_

_Chapter 1: Descent to Darkness **  
**_

Staring out the window of his dreadfully small apartment, the teary-eyed blond boy gazed at the stars in the sky wondering if there was more to life than this. Seven year old Naruto Uzumaki just couldn't seem to fall into the comforting arms of sleep and experience the bliss of a wonderful dream, an escape from an awful reality. This left him to thinking.

For the life of him, Naruto couldn't understand the unwarranted hatred and contempt he received each day. Everyone referred to him as a demon and either ignored his existence all-together or took any chance they had to harm him.

The tears finally fell.

Naruto desired a friend. He craved acknowledgement, acceptance, normality, and love. Like a mantra, Naruto kept reciting that in his head.

The 3rd Hokage was the only reason Naruto was still alive. Naruto turned his head to look at the money the elderly Hokage left for him earlier. Naruto went out to buy food, but for whatever reason, the shop owners either refused him completely or over-charged him. Naruto only managed to purchase a couple cups of ramen and some milk. The rest had to go to paying the rent.

_'The landlord is probably ripping me off, too.'_ Naruto thought grimly.

Life at the academy wasn't much different.

The teachers purposely withheld information from Naruto and the students constantly bullied him and laughed at his failures even though he gave it his all.

Sadness to depression. Depression to total self-loathing. Self-loathing to hatred of others.

Naruto got up, and walked to his bathroom. He chuckled humorlessly.

_'My bathroom's in my kitchen which is in bedroom. Damn.'_

Naruto stared at his reflection and was greeted by an unfamiliar expression: one of anger.

When Naruto was wronged, he would usually experience a deep sadness, but it never evolved into what he was feeling now. He felt a need to exact revenge on those who've done him wrong. He wanted them to experience all the pain he's felt and more.

The feeling got stronger and undeniably enticing. The desire to prove his existence and find his purpose became an addend to the feeling.

Revenge. Naruto changed his mantra. He would be acknowledged. He would be accepted one way or another and if people wanted to hate him, he would simply hate them back.

With a newly found resolve, Naruto smirked. The expression he saw in the mirror pleased him.

He wasn't the only one who was pleased.

_**"Naruto Uzumaki."**_ A deep, demonic voice quickly drew Naruto's attention.

Spinning around his room, trying to locate the source of the voice, a wide-eyed Naruto scanned his apartment for any potential danger.

_'There's no damn way I imagined that.' _Naruto thought in a panic.

Futilely searching his room, he came up empty and laid back in bed, attempting to get some rest. He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax into the covers of his bed. Minutes later, he was asleep.

* * *

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he discovered that he was ankle deep in water.

_'What the heck?'_ A thoroughly confused Naruto thought.

The sound of deep breathing and slight growls caught Naruto's attention and he walked down the hallway of wherever he was toward the source of the sound.

He turned around each corner cautiously, readying himself for anything. The sound became increasingly louder, signifying Naruto was heading in the right direction. Naruto took note of the bleak atmosphere. He still had no idea where he was.

_'Gotta be a dream.'_ He mused.

Naruto turned the final corner, coming face to face with a massive cage. Naruto slowly approached the cage, his heart pounding against his chest as the sounds from before seemed to cease as he came closer.

Red eyes opening and a massive mouth curled into a malicious smile. A red aura seemed to be emanating around the being in the cage. As the being came closer to the cage, Naruto was able to make out the bestial features of the being. He identified it as "a big ass fox."

_'Weirdest freaking dream I've ever had.'_ Naruto thought.

_**"Naruto Uzumaki. I've noticed your resolve and your delicious desire for revenge." **_The voice of the fox frightened Naruto and also jogged his memory.

_'That voice.'_

"You're what called my name before. Wh-Who the hell are you?!" Naruto demanded pointing a trembling finger at the intimidating fox.

Naruto heard a deep rumbling sound from the fox. _**"Foolish human. I am the Kyuubi. The mightiest of the tailed-beast."**_

Paralyzed by fear, Naruto could only stare in confusion.

_**"Ignorant. Have you seen the seal on the cage? That is keeping me from giving you power. You are my jinchuriki, puny human."**_ The Kyuubi said noticing the expression of confusion on Naruto's face.

By now, Naruto realized this was no dream. He had heard of the Kyuubi. Currently, Naruto was standing in front of the same being who was responsible for much destruction and the death of many of the village's shinobi. It was...sealed within him?

A cold feeling of realization spread over him. This had to be the reason everyone hated him. The villagers saw him as the Kyuubi instead of as Naruto Uzumaki.

This only served to fuel his rage and desire for revenge.

_'They hate me because of something that's not my fault?!' _Naruto thought angrily.

The Kyuubi took notice of the quickly increasing anger of his jinchuriki. He was very much pleased. The Kyuubi was already thinking of ways to influence the boy.

_**"I've noticed your desire for revenge, and I want to make an offer." **_The Kyuubi thought over his next words carefully. Those words would be make the difference of this boy's compliance or his defiance. The Kyuubi needed subtlety.

Naruto's attention was now completely focused on the Kyuubi, waiting cautiously for the next words of the mighty fox demon.

_**"I am going to fuse my chakra with yours, giving you immense power. It is up to you, whether or not you can control it. We both desire the same thing, so I will not attempt to control you, but you must make the power yours." **_The Kyuubi extended his offer, paying close attention to Naruto's facial expression.

The decision wasn't hard for Naruto. As a seven year old boy with the desire for revenge, an offer of power was irresistible.

A malicious smirk spread over Naruto's face. The Kyuubi was again pleased at the recent turn of events.

"I accept your offer." Naruto simply said, the smirk still evident on his face.

_**"For this to work, I need you to tear off this cursed seal."**_ The Kyuubi informed.

Naruto almost eagerly tore the seal off and was immediately greeted by the sight of the Kyuubi's red aura extending out and flowing into him.

The change began instantaneously.

The evil and the hatred radiating from Naruto as the Kyuubi's chakra flowed into him was palpable. Naruto fell to his knees in pain. A burning sensation flared through his body. His body was quickly trying to adapt to the sudden intrusion. The red chakra _demanded_ complete change. Naruto's anatomy itself began to change. His hair became a dark orange and became shaggier, similar to that of the 4th Hokage's. His dull nails grew into intimidating, inch-long claws and his fangs grew. His once blue eyes changed into a proud purple. The most alarming change occurred with his ears. They changed into those of a fox and stood proudly on his head.

After all the drastic changes, Naruto collapsed and fell into unconsciousness.

***Two Days Later***

Naruto's eyes cracked open slightly, adjusting to the morning light. He suddenly snapped out of bed, checking himself over and trying to confirm if everything was actually real. The claws were a give away.

Naruto got up and ran to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. It was all confirmed.

Naruto began laughing. As his laughter died out, a malicious fanged smirk spread across his face once more. He could feel it. The power brimming at his finger tips! Revenge seemed so much closer than before.

**The Big Question: Why didn't Minato appear? My interpretation on how Minato's chakra works in accordance with the seal is that it completely depends on the amount of influence the Kyuubi has over Naruto. At this point of the story, Naruto, for the most part, isn't being influenced much. Naruto's will with enhanced power, courtesy of the Kyuubi.**


	2. Best Laid Plans of Fox and Men

**_(Edited)_**

_Chapter 2: Best Laid Plans of Fox and Men_

Naruto smirked to himself, the tip of a fang peeking over his lip. Today, he managed to pull one over on the shop owners by changing his appearance with the transformation jutsu. Naruto was kicking himself for not thinking of that sooner. Something else he noticed, though, was how difficult it was to perform the jutsu compared to before. He guessed it was because of the massive chakra increase.

First, Naruto decided to buy food, obviously. He even let out a feral growl once he departed from the store because of how much less the food cost in comparison to before he used the transformation jutsu. After depositing the food in his apartment, he went out to buy some more appropriate cloting. With the same transformation in place, he scanned the store and bought what he wanted.

Currently, Naruto stood in his apartment, with the transformation released, in his new clothes. He was wearing a sleeveless, dark red shirt over black, baggy pants that were taped off at the ankles, black sandals, and black arm warmers. A dark orange sash, the same tone as his hair, was tied around his waist.

Satisfied with his look, Naruto got down to contemplating his revenge. As he currently stood, he didn't stand a chance in hell, fox's power or not. Naruto didn't have the slightest inkling as to what his limits were or what abilities he had in this new form of his. Trying to exact his revenge now would only result in his arrest and execution. All the citizens were looking for any reason to either lock him away for life, or just end his life.

_'No way am I going to let them put me down.'_ Naruto thought with pure determination.

His revenge would have to take a back seat to training. He needed to get stronger and he needed to discover what he could do with this newly attained power. Finding out how, though, was the problem. Naruto couldn't just teach himself. He needed guidance of some sort from an older, experienced shinobi and the only way that would ever happen would be if he graduated from the academy. As much as he loathed and dreaded returning to that damned place, it was his only choice.

Sighing in frustration, Naruto laid in his bed, trying to get some sleep with the thought of the academy in his head, a thought that completely sickened him.

***5 Years Later***

Today would mark the third time Naruto has attempted the graduation exam for academy students. When it came to taijutsu, Naruto ran circles around all of his classmates. Intense practice has fine tuned his aiming with shuriken and kunai. A couple years back, Naruto purchased twin blades and became fairly efficient in kenjutsu. Naruto's taijutsu was something akin to the Inuzuka style. The biggest difference between the two taijutsu styles was Naruto didn't bother getting down on all fours. He discovered that his senses were strengthened. His ears and nose were sensitive, on par with that of an Inuzuka.

But what the hell was the problem? Chakra control. Naruto had so much chakra, and he noted that his chakra was actually steadily _increasing_, ever so slightly. Any progress that he made while performing countless chakra control exercises, was made invalid. When he became quickly frustrated with his lack of progress, the Kyuubi's voice sounded in his head and told him that he had not given Naruto all of his chakra right away, for that would have killed him. Instead, the Kyuubi opted for gradually sending his chakra into Naruto so his body could adapt easier to the demonic chakra.

Because of the massive amount of chakra Naruto possessed, he was unable to perform the simple jutsus the academy required. He could barely perform the transformation jutsu anymore, he could use the replacement jutsu, but it was inconsistent, and the clone jutsu, Naruto said, "Could go straight to hell." Indeed, Naruto could not create a reliable clone.

Naruto found himself at a stand still. Currently, he waited in his classroom at the academy, just a bit nervous about the exam. He hoped the exam this year would demand the proper execution of the Replacement Jutsu. After a few years, his classmates finally warmed up to the idea of Naruto's feral appearance. They still avoided him, but that was fine by Naruto. He didn't give a damn whether they like him or not anymore.

"The final test will be on the Clone Jutsu. When your name is called, proceed to the testing room." Naruto ears twitched and as he registered what his teacher said. Naruto let out a light growl and he rested his head on his arms, resigning himself to another hellish year in the hellish hellhole.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Your turn. Perform the clone jutsu." Mizuki commanded gently with that gentle smile he seemed to always have. He was one of the nicer teachers, Naruto noted.

Naruto walked over to the testing room and stood in the center. Taking a deep breath to relax himself, he performed the necessary handsigns and said in a low voice, "Clone Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke appeared and as it cleared, Naruto standing next to four duds was revealed.

"Naruto, you fail!"

Naruto growled softly. His ears drooped and he began walking out.

"Come on, can't we allow him to pass. This is his third year and technically, he did create clones." Mizuki said in Naruto's defense.

Naruto's ears twitched in Mizuki's direction and looked back in disbelief. Sure, Mizuki had been relatively nice, but for him to actually speak for him was definitely shocking for Naruto.

"We can't allow him to graduate. Those clones, if you could even call them that, were pathetic. They would be completely ineffective on the battlefield, unless his opponents laughed themselves to death." The female teacher, whose name Naruto didn't bother to remember, spoke.

With that Naruto took his leave.

Outside, Naruto sat in the branches of the nearest tree looking at the proud families and their children whom passed the exam. Apparently, he had been the only one to fail this year and this knowledge fueled his anger and frustration.

"I heard he's the only one who failed."

"Good thing. Do you have any idea what would happen if that demon became a ninja?"

Naruto's sensitive ears picked up on the conversation and he sunk deeper within himself. He noticed Mizuki approaching him from his spot on the tree branch.

"What the hell do you want, Sensei?" Naruto asked without turning to face him.

"I just want to offer you a make-up exam." Mizuki said, catching Naruto's interest.

"I've never heard of any make-up exam. Just what exactly does this entail?" Naruto inquired with suspicion. Trust was never an option.

"If you manage to find the secret scroll located in the Hokage's office and learn any given technique from the scroll, you will pass. You see, this test will examine your ability to invade an area undetected, and test your capacity to learn." Mizuki informed giving his most convincing smile.

"Alright. I guess I'll give it a shot." Naruto said with a determined smirk. The way Mizuki explained the test did make sense, but he'd still stay on his guard just in case.

* * *

Naruto wasn't sure for how long he had this scroll, but he did smile as he remembered his reaction to seeing the first jutsu listed on the scroll. He had just opened up the scroll and saw the name Shadow Clone Jutsu written first.

"More clones? Damn it all, it never ends!" He had said frustrated.

But he committed himself to learning and found it much easier to perform than the Clone Jutsu he was familiar with. Another thing he took note off, was how the scroll was clearly labelled as 'Forbidden Techniques.' At that point, he was sure Mizuki was up to something, but he wasn't sure what.

After thoroughly mastering the Shadow Clone Jutsu and familiarizing himself with its special properties, he moved down the list. He read off a technique named the Burst Step.

Derived from the 4th Hokage's Hiraishin, the Burst Step is performed by expelling out a large amount of chakra, depending on one's mastery of the jutsu, out to a specific area and using that expelled chakra as a beacon that recalls the body by basically acting as a magnet and drawing the body towards the expelled chakra in a very quick burst that is virtually invisible to an untrained eye. Apparently, it was forbidden because, unless _very carefully_ performed by someone with a great amount of chakra and knowledge of how to use that chakra, the body could be seriously harmed by use of this technique.

He had recalled what was written for the description of the Shadow Clone Jutsu and applied that to learning the Burst Step. He avoided using the Burst Step to prevent the risks and instead left the practicing to his clones while he kept a sharp eye out for Mizuki. Mizuki was going to pay for even attempting to deceive him.

* * *

About two hours after he began trying to learn the Burst Step, he caught the scent of Mizuki. His ears began picking up the sound of rustling leaves and footsteps. His signature fanged smirk spread across his face. Throwing his black, high collared jacket to the ground, he prepared to face off with his _Sensei._

His sharp ears heard that something was thrown, he dispelled the clones and jumped to the side, avoiding several kunai.

"Very alert, Naruto. That's good, now hand over that scroll and maybe I won't kill you." Mizuki said with mock praise.

"Bastard. I know you tried to deceive me. Unfortunately for you, though, you won't live long enough to regret that." Naruto said in a low, cruel voice with his clawed hand flexed in front of his face.

Naruto noticed Mizuki move his hand toward his back in an attempt to grab the Fuma Shuriken. Naruto didn't allow him to grab it. Naruto focused his chakra and quickly expelled it to Mizuki's side. Using the Burst Step, Naruto appeared at Mizuki's left and quickly unsheathed one of his twin blades and made a slash at Mizuki. Mizuki, with his shinobi reflexes, managed to side step the attack to avoid a serious injury, but he still received a shallow cut.

"Damn you, demon brat. So you managed to learn a little something from the scroll? Doesn't matter, you're nothing but a wild demon in the face of death." Mizuki's words only served to increase Naruto's anger.

Mizuki grabbed the Shuriken from his back and hurled it at Naruto. Naruto side stepped the shuriken and grabbed several kunai from his pouch and threw it at Mizuki. Mizuki ducked low to avoid the kunai and Naruto appeared using his Burst Step and delivered a kick to Mizuki's face.

Naruto quickly made the hand sign for the Shadow Clone Jutsu and five Narutos appeared. Mizuki did a backflip to regain his balance and pulled out some shuriken. With intent to destroy every clone, he threw them at the Narutos, whom drew their second blade and deflected the projectiles.

One Naruto Burst Stepped behind Mizuki going for the finishing slash, but Mizuki saw the attack coming and back kicked him and quickly realized it was only a clone as it poofed out of existence.

Two Narutos appeared at each of Mizuki's side and two more appeared at his back again. Each held onto Mizuki as the real Naruto channeled chakra into his claws and ran at Mizuki with surprising speed.

Rearing back his right arm, Naruto bellowed as he brought his arm down in an arc, slashing into Mizuki with his chakra-empowered claws. Mizuki's eyes widened and he let out pain-filled scream. Four deep gashes were left across Mizuki's chest. Mizuki's eyes glazed over and he fell to the ground, as the Naruto clones released him, lifelessly.

Naruto rose his blood stained hand to his face. The smell of the blood hit his nose immediately, and Naruto felt a grim satisfaction. He delighted in the feeling that accompanied exacting revenge on the deceitful teacher. Chuckling softly, Naruto walked away, staring at his hand in a daze.

_'One down.'_


	3. Ruthless, Fierce, and Opportunistic

**Thanks Waffle192 and wolfking98 for reviewing last chapter.**

_Chapter 3: Ruthless, Fierce, and Opportunistic_

Sitting in his apartment, Naruto looked at the forehead protector with the leaf insignia in the center that laid on his dresser. After finishing off Mizuki and reporting the situation to the old Hokage to clear up any lingering suspicions and explain how he was the "victim," the old man rewarded him by naming him an official shinobi of Konoha. The Hokage also remarked that he saw the whole battle through his crystal ball and complemented on Naruto's efficiency. Naruto guessed that the 3rd Hokage figured if Naruto could defeat a chunin level ninja, then he at the very least deserved to be a genin. During that time, the 3rd Hokage asked Naruto the same question he always asked him each time he saw Naruto, "Are you in full control of the fox's power." Each time Naruto was faced with the question, he would just smirk and nod. The old man didn't need all the details, but he just wanted to make sure Naruto wouldn't go off on a rampage.

Naruto smirked at the thought.

Remembering why he woke up earlier than usual, he tied the forehead protector to his head and proceeded to the academy. Today was the graduation ceremony, afterall.

He entered the academy building. _'Let's hope this is the last time I ever step foot in this building.'_ Naruto thought bitterly. He looked around and quickly realized he was early as not many others had arrived yet. Coming to that realization, Naruto decided to rest for a bit. However, that was not to be, as his sensitive ears picked up the sound of rushed footsteps and shuffling. The door slammed open and two newly graduated kunoichis shoved their way through the door each announcing, "I'm first!"

Naruto tuned out their conversation, because frankly he couldn't give two shits about who was first. He ignored them until he noticed the pink-haired one of the two kunoichis seemingly staring at him. Disdain laced his features and he wrote this off as just another example of how much of a freak everyone thought he was.

That was until she started running towards him.

"Sasuke!" The pink-haired girl, Sakura, shouted. Naruto looked over to his left and for the first time noticed the black-haired boy, apparently named Sasuke, sitting next to him. Naruto was performing a self-sense check because he didn't even know the guy was there.

"Naruto, move. I want to sit next to Sasuke." Sakura demanded. Naruto just looked at her like she was speaking a different language.

"Like hell I will. Go find another seat." Naruto replied in a low voice, "Why should I bother to move when you're already standing up?"

Sakura began trying to shift Naruto herself. That was massive mistake. As soon as Sakura made contact with Naruto arm, that same arm swiped out, claws and all, and pushed Sakura back about two feet.

"Back off." Naruto said simply, in the same low, dangerous tone. Sakura looked down at her arm and saw the shallow cuts, undoubtedly left by Naruto's claws. Sakura silently got up and sat in the seat behind Naruto, fear evident in her eyes.

Sasuke watched the confrontation with interest. Sasuke wasn't very familiar with Naruto, but he never knew the boy to strike out like that. Naruto always appeared to be very volatile, but since no one ever approached him, Sasuke didn't have much of an idea how Naruto would react to certain situations. Placing his hands in front of his face and lacing his fingers together, he feigned indifference.

After the remaining graduates entered, the female teacher, the same one who oversaw Naruto's recent attempt at the exam, arrived. She made eye contact with Naruto for the briefest of moments before looking away.

"As of today, you are all shinobi. But I warn you, from here on out, things will become increasingly more difficult as you go. Now, you are only genin, low level ninja. You will all be grouped into three man squads led by a jonin. Each squad has been carefully determined, based on your abilities. Now I will announce your squads."

Naruto's attention was drawn to the part about the three man squads. He sighed. He really dreaded being placed on a team with an airhead or something. He would probably end up killin-

"Squad Seven: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha." The instructor announced.

Naruto slammed his head on the desk and growled, Sakura looked torn between crying and laughing, and Sasuke appeared not to care. Ino was upset that she wasn't placed on Sasuke's team.

"Squad Eight: Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka. Squad Ten: Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi." The instructor heard another bang and looked up to that Ino had slammed her head on the desk and Shikamaru was chuckling while poking her. The instructor sighed.

After the team placements were announced, the jonin came to collect their squads, except the jonin for squad seven. Even after an hour, squad seven's sensei was still a no-show. Naruto was pacing the room, growling lightly, Sasuke was in the same position he has been since he entered the room, and Sakura was strangely silent, still afraid of Naruto.

Sakura and Sasuke watched as Naruto suddenly stopped in place, his nose and ears twitching as he walked to the door and left. They were utterly confused until Naruto later walked back into the room with masked, silver-haired man.

"I have no first impression of you guys. Meet me on the roof in five minutes." The masked jonin said in a dull monotone voice.

When they met on the rooftop, the jonin broke the ice, "How about a little introduction? Tell me about yourselves, like your names, dreams, like, dislikes, and hobbies."

"Why don't you go first?" Sakura said nervously.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate, well I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future? I haven't really thought about that. Hobbies? I have a lot of hobbies." Kakashi told them.

_'All we got was his name.'_ Sakura thought unimpressed.

_'Ass.'_ Naruto thought.

"Your turn, fox boy." Kakashi said pointing to Naruto who growled at the nickname.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I can't think of anything I like other than fighting and we'd be here all day if I started listing all the things I hate. My dream isn't something I should say out loud." Naruto muttered the last part under his breath.

_'Hmm, that's not very surprising, considering the way he grew up.' _Kakashi sighed, then pointed to Sakura, signaling her to go next.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. Things I like, or the person I like," She glanced over to Sasuke, smiled and blushed, "Hobbies," She glanced over to Sasuke again, "Dreams for the future," She squealed loudly forcing Naruto to cover his ears.

_'Kunoichi, these days, are more concerned with boys than with training.'_ Kakashi thought, disappointed. He looked over to Sasuke.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I am going to restore my clan, and destroy a certain someone." Sasuke said the last part with an ominous aura.

"Now that we are all acquainted, tomorrow, you will be taking another test, a survival exam, if you will. This will determine whether you really become a genin or if you get sent back to the academy." Kakashi stated, surprising his new students.

"There's a sixty six percent chance that you will fail. And also, don't eat breakfast, or you'll throw up." Kakashi stated in a dark voice, further surprising his students.

The next day, Sakura and Sasuke arrived to find Naruto at the designated area training with around a hundred clones, practicing his kenjutsu and his Burst Step. They sat and watched Naruto have a battle royal with himself. Sasuke quickly took notice of a specific Naruto, who seemed to be running through the rest of them. He suspected that to be the real Naruto and his suspicions were confirmed when that Naruto received a shallow cut on his shoulder and didn't dispel. Sakura was amazed that the same kid who couldn't even perform the basic jutsus of the academy created so many solid clones and was wielding twin swords pretty well.

After the rumble came to a close, the real Naruto walked towards his teammates. He didn't feel much fatigue, and he guessed that was a benefit from having absorbed the foxes chakra: seemingly endless stamina. He walked past Sasuke and Sakura and picked up his black, high collared jacket from the ground and placed it back on. Then, he leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes.

Naruto opened his eyes again when he had the feeling that someone was staring at him. He looked up and realized Sasuke and Sakura were gawking at him shamelessly. Sasuke looked like he was trying to disect him and Sakura just looked like she was trying to figure out what he was about.

"What the hell are you all gawking at?" Naruto growled.

Before either could answer, Kakashi poofed into the area in a puff of smoke, "Yo." He said waving his hand with his eye closed in what appeared to be a smile.

"You're _late _Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted at the jonin as Naruto's ear pinned to his scalp.

"Damn it all! Would you lower the volume?!" Naruto hissed back to Sakura who quickly apologized and remained silent. Naruto's eyebrows shot up at this. Realization hit him and he allowed himself a fanged smirk. She was completely afraid of him. Truthfully, Naruto wouldn't have it any other way.

Kakashi watched the little exchange curiously. It appeared Sakura feared Naruto and Naruto was actually satisfied with that. He would definitely have to keep a close eye on Naruto.

The genin of team seven watched as Kakashi retrieved two silver bells from his pocket. He clicked them together and held them out for display.

"What are those bells for?" Sakura inquired.

"These are your test. You will have until noon to steal these bells from me." Kakashi said simply as he placed an alarm clock on a nearby log.

"But there are only two bells and there's three of us." Sakura stated as she noticed the problem.

"Exactly. Therefore, only two of you will pass and truly become genin." Kakashi answered, "Your test starts now."

The three genin quickly scattered.

A few minutes passed. _'Well they have the hiding part down.'_ Kakashi thought to himself.

A barrage of kunai and shuriken flew out from a bush. Kakashi grabbed one of the kunai out of the air and with it, deflected the onslaught of weapons. He sensed a disturbance behind him and spun around quick enough to block a sword strike and deliver a kick to his attacker. It was Naruto. As Naruto flew back from the kick, he poofed into smoke revealing that it was only a clone. Kakashi had heard that Naruto had mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Burst so he wasn't very surprised by the use of the techniques.

_'I might have to fight this one seriously. And his instructors said he was dead-last in class?' _Kakashi thought to himself.

He was broken out of his thoughts as Naruto dashed from behind a tree with great speed, both of his swords in his hands. Kakashi also noticed the sound of rustling leaves to his left and right. Kakashi was also making sure to be aware of his rear because Naruto could at any time use the Burst Step and try to flank him.

Sakura and Sasuke were waiting for an opening in Kakashi's defenses until they made their moves. For now, they were content with watching Naruto perform.

Naruto swung his right sword down clashing with Kakashi's kunai. Bringing his left sword for an inward strike, Naruto hoped Kakashi would side step to the right. Naruto got his wish and watched in satisfaction as a clone he commanded to burrow underground jumped out and swung his claws forcing Kakashi to duck. The real Naruto used his Burst Step to appear in front of Kakashi to attempt a kick. Kakashi grabbed Naruto's foot and throw him towards his clone. While Kakashi's back was turned, two hands came from the ground and grabbed his feet in a vice-grip. Kakashi's visible eye widened. Two more Naruto's appeared at each of Kakashi's sides and grabbed his arms, holding him in place. The real Naruto, who was previously thrown, rebounded off a tree and came flying back at Kakashi.

Naruto hadn't accounted for the fact that Kakashi might have been physically stronger than his clones. Kakashi turned and headbutted the clone on his right, dispelling it, and used his now free arm to quickly punch the clone on his left. He flashed through the hand seals for a Fireball Jutsu, and blew the fireball straight towards the real Naruto. Naruto Burst Stepped out of danger, but not before receiving some burns.

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened. This was their chance! Sasuke let out a barrage of kunai before jumping out of his hiding spot and Sakura prepared herself by channeling chakra to her feet and performing the necessary hand seals for the Clone Jutsu.

Kakashi noticed the kunai heading toward him so he pulled out his own kunai and deflected them. Sasuke took advantage of this and attacked his blind spot. He delivered a jumping kick that forced Kakashi to focus his attention solely on him and block the kick. Sasuke wasn't finished, though. He twisted his body enough to throw a punch at Kakashi's face. Kakashi was forced to block the punch with remaining arm.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Kakashi saw Sakura in the air with a kunai in her hand coming toward him. Kakashi hadn't had the time to deal with the Naruto clone currently holding his feet down in place, so the best he could do was throw Sasuke at the air born Sakura. Before he could do this, two figures swooped through and he felt that something was swiped from his side.

It was the bells.

Kakashi released Sasuke and the clone holding his feet dispelled. He looked to the side to see Sakura and Naruto holding out bells. Sasuke seemed to be cursing himself for not getting a bell.

_'Whether they realized it or not, that was a team effort and I'm very impressed with their skills. Naruto is a very ruthless fighter, Sasuke is fierce, and Sakura uses the situation to her advantage.'_ Kakashi thought while smiling.

"You all pass." Kakashi said while still smiling. Sasuke was pleasantly surprised, though he was still upset that he couldn't retrieve a bell. Sakura was cheering and Naruto smirked.

"Team Seven will begin their missions tomorrow." Kakashi stated proudly while giving all three a thumbs up.

As the rest of the team walked off, Naruto stayed back, still smirking with his fang peeking over his lip. He began to laugh softly to himself.

_'Another step closer.'_

**A few more chapters will follow canon storyline with a few deviations, and then things will become interesting. Once again, review if you wanna be a cool mofo! I like to know whether or not I'm doing well. Thanks to those who have reviewed, favorited, and followed. You da best!**


	4. Steady Progression

**Thanks Waffle192, Sin of Disaster, and ero-sennin56 for reviewing last chapter. I really appreciate the feedback you guys have been giving me.**

_Chapter 4: Steady Progression_

Bitch-work, bitch-work, and more bitch-work.

After the first few D-rank missions, Naruto had bestowed upon the D-rank missions the name of bitch-work. Naruto was aware of his low status as a genin, but these missions didn't _require_ any kind of shinobi ability. Even though one didn't need shinobi ability to perform the bitch-work, Naruto still used his shadow clones and his burst step, when applicable, to complete these missions as quickly as possible.

Kakashi had told the genin of team seven that when they finished their daily "bitch-work", he would train them. The training had started off simple enough: basic chakra control exercises and strength-building. Then, it elevated as Kakashi's expectations were set high.

_"You three are very talented. The small stuff won't do much for you guys, so we'll hop right into the advanced training."_ Kakashi had said with his signature eye-smile.

Kakashi began teaching Sakura some basic and advanced genjutsu, stating that she had a natural aptitude for anything that required picture-perfect chakra control. Kakashi never seemed so harsh as when he was training Sasuke. Constantly, Kakashi would try to throw Sasuke into situations that would hopefully awaken his Sharingan. Sasuke hasn't awakened his Sharingan yet, but his eyes are definitely beginning to evolve. With his experience in kenjutsu, Kakashi began taking Naruto through rigid day-to-day sword practice. Kakashi taught Naruto had to use multiple types of blades: large swords, thin swords, dual swords, and various others. Naruto was pleased with the results.

In terms of personal affairs with the team, Sakura was still afraid of Naruto and would avoid doing anything she feared might set him off, Sasuke was very perceptive of Naruto's increasing skills and he saw Naruto as something of a rival, Naruto was indifferent, and Kakashi was still observing Naruto closely.

Currently, team seven, after completing their bitch-work for the day, met up with Kakashi for their daily training. At this point, they were accustomed to Kakashi's tardiness, so they would either take the time they had to relax or warm-up.

"Yo." Kakashi said simply as he seemingly appeared out of thin air. Before any of them could say anything, Kakashi reached into his pocket and pulled out three pieces of paper.

"What are those things for?" Sasuke asked, leaning up against a tree with his hands in his pocket.

"You guys are aware of the five elements, right?" Kakashi asked his students receiving nods in response, "These papers are used to discover your elemental affinity." He handed the pieces of paper to his students. "Just channel you chakra into the paper. If it crumples, then your affinity is lightning. If it burns, your affinity is fire. If it splits, your affinity is wind. If it dampens, your affinity is water. And if it turns to dust, your affinity is earth."

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto channeled chakra into their papers. Sasuke's paper crumpled, Sakura's turned to dust, and Naruto's split then burned.

_'Does this mean I have a natural affinity to fire _and _wind.'_ Naruto thought excitedly.

_**"That is only because I have a natural affinity to fire. Originally, your affinity was to wind. When you absorbed my chakra, you gained fire and kept wind. Be grateful, human."**_ The Kyuubi's voice sounded in Naruto's head.

"What's the best element, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke questioned as he took note of Naruto's apparent double elemental affinity.

"There's no dominant element. Each element can be beat by another. Fire is strong against wind, but weak against water. Wind is strong against lightning which is strong against earth which is strong against water. Also, if you use lightning correctly, it can be strong against water." Kakashi answered, then looked over to Naruto, "You have a double affinity, and fortunately for you, wind and fire can be used in conjunction."

Naruto smirked to himself.

"Luckily, I know some jutsus from every element." Kakashi said, smiling. Sakura smiled back, Naruto smirked, and Sasuke said, "Hn."

"Sakura, I'll be teaching you Earth Style: Mud Wall. Sasuke, I'll teach you Lightning Style: Lightning Shadow Clone and later, I'll teach a jutsu I, myself, have created, and Naruto, I'll teach you Wind Style: Great Breakthrough and the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." Kakashi explained.

Kakashi made two shadow clones and paired them off with the genin.

Naruto made use of his shadow clones and managed to learn the two jutsu within two days. Sasuke was able to learn the Lightning Clone within one day, and Sakura learned the Mud Wall within two days. In addition, Kakashi taught Naruto and Sasuke how to channel chakra into their weapons and told them to get creative with how they use it.

***Two Days Later***

_'This is hell. I mean _really _hell. I think I'll just kill this damn cat so I never have to see it again.'_ Naruto thought, actually flexing his hands and readying his claws.

"Target in sight. Prepare for capture." Sakura said professionally through her walkie talkie.

"Sakura, you're taking this way too seriously. It's just a cat, barely even worth any effort." Sasuke said into his walkie talkie.

Sakura laughed, thoroughly embarrassed, "Yeah, you're right Sasuke. I-"

"Let's just grab this stupid cat and get this over with!" Naruto interrupted impatiently.

"Whenever you're ready." Sasuke responded, not intimidated.

"Alright...Now!" Naruto commanded as he and his team jumped from their hiding spots. Their target jumped in surprise and tried to escape, but it was futile. Naruto latched onto the cat and held him down while Sasuke reported to Kakashi the successful mission.

The team reported to Hiruzen, the 3rd Hokage. They listened as he explained the available bitch-work, but Naruto had enough.

"No! There's no way in _hell_ I'm going to do any more bitch-work! I swear if you don't give me at least a C-rank mission I will wre-"

"There is a C-rank escort mission available. The mission is to guard a bridge-builder on his way back to Wave and protect him while he builds the bridge. You may encounter some bandits along the way, but it is nothing you young shinobi can not handle. This is better than 'bitch-work', isn't it." Hiruzen interrupted Naruto. He was planning to give them a C-rank mission very soon, anyway.

"Well, yeah. Thanks old man." Naruto said, relaxing. His ears picked up the sound of uneven footsteps heading in their direction. He crinkled his nose as he caught the heavy scent of alcohol, "We got a drunkard heading towards us." Naruto warned everyone in the room.

Less than a minute later, an elderly man stumbled through the door holding onto a bottle of sake. He took a swig and glanced at the attendants of the room. His eyes rested on one in particular: a certain fox-eared shinobi.

"Damn, I really gotta lay off the sauce if I'm seeing a fox-human hybrid." The intoxicated man slurred as he struggled to maintain his balance.

Naruto sighed, "Someone please tell me this drunkard isn't the guy we're supposed to guard." Naruto looked at the Hokage for confirmation who only nodded.

"I'm Tazuna, master bridge builder. And I asked for shinobi to protect me, not a bunch of brats." Tazuna stated.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto burst stepped behind Tazuna and kicked the back of his knees, sending him to the ground. Naruto grabbed Tazuna's hair and turned his head so they were eye-to-eye. Tazuna was sobered up.

"Let's get one thing straight, you drunken bastard. Age isn't a factor when you're a shinobi. I'm more than qualified to take on this mission. Also, I don't recommend insulting me if you want to live. I've had enough of that as it is." Naruto whispered in a harsh voice so only Tazuna could hear him. With that said, Naruto let him go and walked back over to his team.

Naruto pretended to listen as Hiruzen and Kakashi scolded him for threatening a client.

* * *

Later, after Naruto packed all his necessities threw on his dark red sleeveless shirt, baggy black pants, black sandals, and short-sleeved black high collar jacket, and his arm warmers, he left his apartment and headed towards the main gate.

His team was waiting for him and Kakashi was on time.

_'Or maybe I'm just late.'_ Naruto thought without much concern. Naruto looked over and noticed Tazuna glaring at him. Naruto just glared back.

"Let's head out." Kakashi said simply. Everyone fell in line with him.

After walking for about an hour, with little conversation, Naruto smelled other people nearby, but he disregarded it. Kakashi noticed a puddle on the ground and raised his guard.

Sometime later, the group was surprised by chains that shot out from behind the trees and latched onto Kakashi and tore him apart.

The three genin were shocked and horrified by what just happened to their sensei. Naruto quickly made the hand sign for the Shadow Clone jutsu and produced two clones. Sakura quickly made the hand signs for the Mud Wall and a wall appeared that protected both her and Tazuna.

The attackers quickly charged and tried to attack Naruto's blind spot, but before they reached their destination, two of the Narutos burst stepped to meet them head on, each with one of their two blades drawn and charged with wind chakra. They swung the chakra-empowered swords and broke through the metal claws the attacking shinobi wore and severed the arms. The attackers recoiled in pain while Sasuke made his move and attacked one of the attacking shinobi, incapacitating the enemy. The real Naruto flashed through the hand seals for the Fireball Jutsu and unleashed a fairly large fireball that engulfed the enemy, ending his life.

After the fight, Kakashi appeared from behind the trees with slightly shocked, and mostly proud expression on his face. He had thought he would have to step in and save one of his team, but they handled the situation very well.

"Excellent job, guys, very smooth and efficient." Kakashi praised. Kakashi then turned to regard Tazuna who was the picture of nervousness and guilt, "Tazuna, we need to have a talk."

**Review if you wanna be a cool mofo! This guy loves feedback of all kinds. I'm really going to enjoy Naruto having fire and wind ninjutsu.**


	5. Kakashi the Copy Ninja

**Thanks Dark Prime0, ero-sennin56, and Guest, even though I have no idea what your review said. I'm glad that you guys are enjoying the story so far.**

_Chapter 5: Kakashi the Copy Ninja_

Tazuna was very relieved. The shinobi from Konoha had agreed to continue the mission, regardless of the deception. Naruto had objected, though, and he didn't even flinch when Tazuna had unveiled the sad story about his suffering country. Naruto did appear to be angered, and his disgust of Gato was nearly palpable.

In his head, Naruto vowed to kill Gato, who was the bastard behind all the hardships Tazuna's homeland was facing. If his team wanted to complete this mission so badly, then he'd give himself his own mission. _'Kill two birds with one stone, I guess.'_ Naruto thought, as he mentally shrugged.

Team Seven had arrived, not to long ago, in a forest in the outskirts of Wave after rowing through a thick fog. After discovering Gato's intention to prevent the bridge from being built and his hiring of shinobi to do assassinate Tazuna, Team Seven was even more alert.

Naruto's nose caught on to an unfamiliar scent and he quickly threw a kunai that went through the nearest bush and slammed into a tree. Sakura had a surprised look on her face as she looked towards where Naruto threw the kunai. She saw a petrified rabbit. She turned to Naruto and shot him a look of disgust.

"Naruto, I know you're probably the furthest thing from a nice person, but what made you want to throw a kunai at a rabbit?" Sakura exclaimed as she tried to comfort the rabbit.

Naruto's eyebrows shot up. He knew for a _fact_ that rabbit wasn't there before. That wasn't what he was aiming for with the kunai.

_'That rabbit's white coat signifies that it has been kept indoors.'_ Kakashi thought suspiciously, _'That must have been a replacement jutsu.' _

Before anyone could question the out-of-place rabbit further, a massive sword spun through the air, forcing Team Seven to duck before they received any damage. The huge sword slammed into a tree and person appeared, standing on top of the sword, looking back at Team Seven.

"Well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi," Kakashi said in recognition, "Rogue-ninja from Kirigakure."

Naruto kept a hand on one of his swords, readying himself for a quickdraw, but Kakashi held out his in front of Naruto, ceasing his actions.

"You're in the way. This one is out of your league." Kakashi said, "He's not like those other shinobi. If he's our opponent, I'm going to need this." Kakashi pulled up his headband revealing the Sharingan in his left eye.

Sasuke's eyes widened. _'Sharingan is a kekkei genkai unique to the Uchiha clan. How does he have it?'_ Sasuke thought, thoroughly confused.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan. It's too bad, but you're going to have to hand over the old man." Zabuza stated in his deep, gravely, intimidating voice.

"Mangi formation. Protect the bridge builder." Kakashi commanded and his team complied, surrounding the bridge builder. Naruto really wanted to fight this new opponent, but he could tell Zabuza was a superior fighter and fighting him would be near suicidal.

Zabuza pulled his sword from the tree and jumped on the water. He formed a hand sign with each hand and a heavy mist began to form.

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm. "He just disappeared." Naruto said in surprise.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura murmured hesitantly.

Kakashi stepped forward and stated, "He'll come after me first. Stay on your guard, though. Zabuza is a master of the silent killing. It can happen in an instant, without any sound or warning."

"The mist is becoming thicker." Naruto said with a growl. The stalemate was irritating and it was making him antsy.

Kakashi, as if in response to Naruto's statement, flared his chakra causing some of the mist to disperse. Sasuke's entire body began shaking as the severity of the situation and the sheer power of the two jonin registered. _'I-I feel like I can't breathe. One shallow breath, one single movement of the eye is enough to draw his attack. It's suffocating! If it goes on like this, I'll go insane... No, I'd rather...'_ Sasuke trembled as he slowly rose the kunai, that he held tightly, to his throat, prepared to end his own life.

"Sasuke! Calm down." Kakashi's voice woke Sasuke from his suicidal trance, " I'll protect you all with my life. I will not allow my comrades to die. Trust me." Kakashi finished with a smile.

Naruto stared in disbelief at Kakashi's form. He shook off his shock at the statement, and drew one of his twin swords. His ears twitched as he tried his hardest to pick up even the slightest sound. Naruto concentrated hard. Closing his eyes, he focused solely on his sense of hearing.

His eyes snapped open, he heard it, the sound of Zabuza's footsteps! It was _very_ faint, but not completely silent. Schooling his features, Naruto channeled wind chakra to the blade of his sword and added a layer of fire chakra to top it. Naruto's blade was now encased in fire.

Zabuza was now very close. He was inching up behind genin of Team Seven, intent on quickly killing the bridge builder. What Zabuza didn't account for was the quick reaction of Naruto, who faced him and shot a fairly large fire blast from his sword. Zabuza had to break his stride and jump away from the shot of fire.

Kakashi was immediate in his own reaction. Jumping at Zabuza with a kunai in his hand, Kakashi swung the weapon and cut through Zabuza, who burst into water, revealing that he was a water clone. Zabuza took advantage of Kakashi's momentary shock and sliced through him. Kakashi, also, burst into water. Zabuza's eyes widened. Kakashi had already copied the Water Clone Jutsu. Zabuza felt cool metal at his throat.

"Don't move." Kakashi said with an underlying threat, holding a kunai at Zabuza's neck. Unexpectedly, Zabuza once again burst into water. The real Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and attempted to slash through him. Kakashi ducked and Zabuza, with an impressive show of physical prowess, kicked Kakashi through the air. Kakashi landed in the water.

Team Seven watched in shock as Zabuza booted their sensei across the battlefield. Zabuza took off, running toward the body of water that Kakashi landed in. His eyes caught the sight of spikes on the ground in front of the water. Zabuza hopped over the spikes and landed on the water. Kakashi surfaced soon after.

Zabuza laughed mockingly, "Fool." He said as he ran through hand signs, "Water Prison Jutsu." Kakashi's eyes widened in alarm as water gathered around him in a spherical shape, ensnaring him. Zabuza created several water clones and sent them after the team of genin and the bridge builder.

The genin realized the battle now rested on their shoulders. Sakura ran in front of the bridge builder and stood in a protective stance. Kakashi told them to complete the mission instead of trying to save him, but that wasn't an option.

_'We lost the option of running when you got captured. This jonin would follow us and kill us.' _Sasuke thought. "Our only option is saving you!" Sasuke said as he reached into his weapon pouch and threw shuriken at the water clones. Sasuke created two lightning clones who charged in. Naruto cursed and drew his second blade and burst stepped in between two of the water clones.

Sasuke's lightning clones were quickly defeated, but as they were attacked, they turned back into lightning and the two water clones who took out lightning clones were taken out themselves as they were struck by the lightning. Naruto dodged a swing from a water clone and countered with his fiery blade. Fire shot out from the blade in a blast that dispelled the remaining water clones. Small steam clouds were left where the water clones used to be.

With all the water clones destroyed, Naruto and Sasuke charged at the real Zabuza. Zabuza created more water clones, whom started to run across the water towards the two genin. Naruto crossed his fingers and created a clone of his own. Sasuke flashed through hand signs as well as Naruto and his clone.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke blew a fireball towards Zabuza.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto and his clone caused a gust of wind to form that strengthened Sasuke's fireball.

The massive fireball flew across the water, destroying the approaching Zabuza clones. Zabuza's eyes widened and he dodged the massive fireball, subsequently, releasing Kakashi from his prison. Kakashi ducked under the water and let the fireball pass before surfacing.

Sakura, who was still standing guard over the bridge builder, looked amazed. She couldn't believe that Naruto and Sasuke could work together like that. More precisely, she couldn't believe Naruto could work with _anyone_.

Kakashi shot Zabuza a fierce look, one that promised punishment.

"Good work, guys, but let me handle it from here. I won't get caught again." Kakashi's voice dropped to a harsh whisper with the last statement.

Zabuza was berating himself for underestimating the genin. Choosing not to dwell on it for too long, he readied himself for Kakashi's next attack. He was surprised to see that Kakashi mirrored his stance perfectly. Zabuza shook it off quickly as he began running through a long series of hand signs. His eyes widened as Kakashi began going through the same hand signs at the same time, once again, mirroring his movements.

Simultaneously, both jonin shouted, "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

The two water dragons arose from the water and twisted around each other. The genin watched in awe as the powerful water jutsus neutralized each other. In the center, Kakashi's kunai clashed with Zabuza's kubikiribōchō.

Zabuza was familiar with the Sharingan enough to know that Kakashi shouldn't have been able to form his hand signs and create a water dragon at the same time as him.

Zabuza and Kakashi jumped back from the weapon clash and began circling each other. Kakashi was, once again, mirroring Zabuza's movements.

"All you're doing is copying me, like a monkey," Zabuza started and Kakashi joined in, "You can't beat me with cheap tricks. I'll crush you!" Both ninja said at the same time.

Zabuza flowed through more hand signs saying in frustration, "When I finish with you, you'll never open that monkey mouth again."

Kakashi copied Zabuza's hand signs and performed them in sync with Zabuza. As the jonin flashed through hand signs, Zabuza caught the sight of his silhouette standing by Kakashi's side, feeding to the idea of Kakashi's supposed future-telling Sharingan. Because of the sight, he hesitated.

Zabuza's hesitance allowed Kakashi to gain the upperhand and complete his jutsu first, "Water Style: Water Vortex Jutsu!" The vortex ensnared Zabuza, capturing him in the flow of chakra and water. The vortex sent Zabuza spiralling towards a nearby tree. Kakashi threw several kunai at Zabuza's limbs, causing him to shriek in pain.

Zabuza looked up at Kakashi, whom was now crouched on the branch of the tree, "Can you see into the future?"

Kakashi regarded Zabuza, "Yes. This is your last battle." Before Kakashi could deal a fatal strike, several senbon stabbed into Zabuza's neck and put him down. All the remaining shinobi turned to face the new attacker.

_'What, how did I not sense that person before?'_ Naruto was confused. Normally, he would've caught an unfamiliar scent or heard someone approaching. He chalked it up to being preoccupied and absorbed in the intense battle between advanced shinobi.

Kakashi knelt and felt for Zabuza's pulse. He sighed, "No vital signs." Kakashi turned back to face the masked attacker.

"I have been hunting Zabuza Momochi for a long time and I have finally tracked him down." The masked tracker said with a bow.

"From your mask, it seems you're a tracker ninja from Kirigakure." Kakashi analyzed.

"Impressive. You are well-informed." The tracker praised. The tracker vanished in a gust of wind and reappeared beside Zabuza. Hoisting Zabuza up, the tracker vanished again.

Silence overtook the group until Tazuna barked with laughter. "Sorry for all the trouble, but you can rest at my house when we get to the village!" The bridge builder invited graciously.

With their destination set, the group set off. They hadn't made it three steps when Kakashi suddenly collapsed. Sakura and Sasuke ran over worried, but Naruto's keen nose told him that Kakashi wasn't suffering from any kind of serious wound, so he deduced that Kakashi was suffering from acute chakra exhaustion.

The genin carried Kakashi the rest of the way to Tazuna's house in silence.

**Meh. Cross your fingers, Chapter 6 **_**may**_** come today as well. Not making any promises though.  
Review if you wanna be a cool mofo!**


	6. The Second Encounter

**If this chapter is posted the same day as Chapter 5, then that means I'm not a total asshat. But if I do not post two chapters in one day, then I will do two thousand push-ups on my thumbs. And if I cannot do that, then I will one thousand squats, butt naked in the McDonalds parking lot. And if I cannot do that, then that means I have dignity!**

_Chapter 6: The Second Encounter_

After hauling Kakashi down to Tazuna's place, Naruto, unceremoniously, dumped Kakashi on a futon, plopped down on the floor, and closed his eyes. His teammates watched him curiously as well as the Tsunami, the daughter of Tazuna, and her son, Inari.

Tazuna's family needed no explanation. They were well aware of Tazuna's venture to receive help from some shinobi village and they were very grateful; that is, except for Inari.

"What you're doing is pointless. Gato's men are just going to kill you like all the others before you." The boy had said before running up to his room. Naruto's ears could pick up the sound of soft sobs coming from what he figured to be Inari's room. Briefly, he wondered what exactly happened to cause the kid to be so cynical.

Naruto stood up and walked outside, intent on getting some training in.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked Naruto who was halfway out the door.

"Training." Naruto turned to face his Uchiha teammate. He began walking again, before Sasuke's next words registered to him.

"I want to fight you." Sasuke said seriously. Naruto turned to face Sasuke again with his purple eyes analyzing the Uchiha. Naruto smirked and replied, "Alright, I'll take you on, but don't expect me to take it easy on you."

* * *

Sasuke faced Naruto who seemed to have an air of confidence around him. If what he saw from Naruto meant anything, Naruto had a reason to be confident. Sasuke gritted his teeth. He made progress, sure, but compared to Naruto, to Zabuza, to Kakashi, he was pathetic. Frustration overtook Sasuke and he challenged Naruto before he had the ability needed to win against Naruto.

Currently, Naruto stood across from Sasuke with an unreadable expression on his face. Both boys had agreed to go into the forest for their skirmish. Sakura had insisted on being a referee. Her reason was, "to stop you two from killing each other."

_'Understandable.'_ Naruto thought.

Sasuke crouched slightly, raising his hands to get into a fighting stance. Naruto did the same and Sakura declared that the fight had begun.

Sasuke immediately reached into his weapon pouch and retrieved some shuriken which he threw at Naruto. Naruto sidestepped the shuriken and countered with his own shuriken. Sasuke pulled out a kunai and deflected the shuriken. Naruto burst stepped behind Sasuke kicked Sasuke in the back. Sasuke tried to do a hand spring to regain his balance, but Naruto burst stepped with a slide and kicked Sasuke the air. Sasuke began flashing through hand signs as Naruto burst stepped above Sasuke and delivered a downward kick to finish the fight, but Sasuke blocked the kick with his shoulder. Sasuke winced as the hard kick nearly dislocated his shoulder. Turning his upper body, Sasuke shouted, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He released a fairly large fireball from his mouth that appeared to catch Naruto, but Naruto burst stepped to safely and landed on the branch of a tree.

Wincing, he registered that his leg was burned pretty badly, but it was beginning to heal already. Crossing his fingers, he created a dozen shadow clones that immediately charged Sasuke with drawn, wind and fire chakra-empowered twin swords. Sasuke fired another fireball from his mouth, catching a few of the clones who didn't burst step in time. The remaining clones landed on the ground next to Sasuke and shot a fire blast from their swords at him. Sasuke jumped into one of the trees. Creating a lightning clone, he sent it out as a decoy. He watched as one of the Naruto clones burst stepped and sliced through the clone with a fiery blade. When the lightning clone turned back into lightning, the clone was electrocuted and it dispelled. Sasuke noticed that Naruto's burst step was becoming clearer. What appeared before as teleportation, now appeared to be a blur.

_'Is he starting to slow down?'_ Sasuke pondered. Sasuke moved to a different tree and created another lightning clone. This time, he watched _very_ carefully as a Naruto clone burst stepped and used a wind chakra-empowered blade to cut down the clone. The clone used the wind surrounding his blade to nullify the lightning.

As Sasuke focused solely on Naruto's movements, he noticed that he could actually _follow_ the quick movements. Sasuke understood now. _'I have to predict his movements and act accordingly.' _Sasuke was feeling optimistic. Pulling out a kunai, he shifted the kunai so he could create some lightning clones when something caught his attention. Reflecting from the kunai, were red eyes instead of his normal onyx ones. As his observed his eyes more closely, he noticed the tomoes: two in the right and one in the left. That would explain why he was starting to become accustomed to Naruto's movements, but from what he read on the Sharingan before, his Sharingan was already advanced. Is it possible he could have awakened his bloodline earlier? According to records, Uchihas awakened their Sharingan during moments of extreme emotional distress. The only moment that came to Sasuke's mind was when...

_"Foster your hatred and despise me. Cling to your wretched life and when you have the same eyes as me, come after me."_

It's possible his Sharingan was awakened when he attacked Itachi after the massacre. Just the thought was enough to make his blood boil. Finding his second wind, Sasuke created five lightning clones to combat Naruto's five shadow clones. Naruto's clones immediately noticed the difference in Sasuke's eyes.

Sakura gasped when she saw Sasuke's new eyes. _'The Sharingan!'_ Sakura thought in amazement.

A few of Sasuke's clones were taken out, but the rest seemed to quickly adapt to Naruto's fighting style, learning to anticipate the quick movements of the Burst Step.

Naruto's eyes widened as the information from his clones returned to him. _'Sasuke awakened his Sharingan? This battle just got so much more interesting.'_ Naruto smirked. His leg was mostly healed now.

Sasuke was immediately alerted by one of his clones being struck by a blast of wind. Naruto popped up from the ground with both of his swords drawn and began spinning in a circle while channeling fire and wind chakra to his weapons and releasing it. Fire came from all directions with Naruto at the center and all of Sasuke's clones were taken out.

The real Sasuke came out of hiding. Holding a kunai in his hand, he decided to charge lightning chakra into it. The lightning kunai crackled and Sasuke held it outwards. A lightning bolt shot from the kunai that headed toward Naruto. Naruto used his blade surrounded by wind chakra to nullify the lightning. Sasuke took the chance to charge at Naruto with surprising speed. The two genin clashed temporarily before jumping back and flashing through hand signs. Both shouted simultaneously, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Two massive fireballs came from the genins' mouths and clashed. Naruto's affinity to fire and Sasuke's years of practice with the jutsu made their fireballs somewhat equal.

Naruto, tired of the deadlock, crossed his fingers, while still blowing fire from his mouth, and created a Shadow Clone that flowed through a series of hand signs and bellowed, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" The gust of wind combined with Naruto's fireball and added to the power of the fire. Sasuke's eyes widened and he focused as much chakra to his legs as he could manage and jumped to the side. Naruto's clone met him halfway and the two engaged in hand-to-hand combat. With the Sharingan, Sasuke had the advantage and quickly landed an attack on the clone. Sasuke's eyes pinpointed the incoming blur that sped past his side and attempted an attack. Sasuke spun quickly and shoved his kunai forward towards Naruto's throat as he felt cool metal on his own throat.

The two genin had caught each other in a fatal position.

Sakura declared the match over and ran over to her teammates. "Wow! That was so amazing! And Sasuke awakened his Sharingan." Sakura exclaimed.

Sasuke and Naruto withdrew their weapons. Naruto sheathed his swords and Sasuke returned his kunai to his pouch.

"That was a good performance, guys." All heads turned to address the familiar voice of Kakashi, whom was supporting himself with a wooden crutch.

"There are some things I need to inform you all about." Kakashi's voice became deathly serious, "Zabuza is still alive." He allowed the shocked genin time to take in the news. "Tracker ninja usually deal with body on the spot, but that one from before took the body away. Also, his weapon of choice, the senbon, are not lethal weapons, unless coated with poison." Kakashi continued.

"So you think that tracker was an ally of Zabuza?" Sasuke questioned.

"Most likely. If I had to guess, then I'd say we have a week, give or take a day, to prepare for the second encounter." Kakashi told his students.

"More training?" Naruto said with a smirk.

"Glad to see you're enthusiastic about this. Yes, we will be training for as long as we can." Kakashi finished with a smile.

Truthfully, Naruto was excited. He was a little more than frustrated that he had to stand back for most of the fight with Zabuza, so to hear that he had another chance to take the swordsman on was enticing.

***6 Days Later***

Throughout the week of training, Kakashi had taken a special interest in Sasuke. He taught the young Uchiha the Chidori by the use of lightning clones. Sasuke, himself, would work on strength and speed building, while the clones would learn how to perform the Chidori. Sasuke hadn't mastered it, but he was damn close.

Kakashi took notice of Sakura's near perfect chakra control and taught her how to channel enough chakra throughout any specific part of her body to greatly increase her strength. He also taught her more genjutsu and helped her develop her skill with Earth Style.

Naruto was a special case. With the amount of clones he could make, one week was the equivalent of a few months. In that theoretical time span, Kakashi aided in improving Naruto's chakra control to the point where he could channel fire chakra to his fist and wind chakra to his claws. Naruto also was now able to use his sword as a makeshift flamethrower. Naruto was miffed that Sasuke could track his Burst Step, so he commanded a group of clones to practice that technique until they dispelled. Now, his Burst Step was faster and he could perform it in rapid succession.

Naruto, too, had his limits. His seemingly endless chakra reserves aided in his quick progress, but the sheer amount of clones he created took its toll and he collapsed in exhaustion at the end of the fifth day.

_"He's been working very hard, you all have been. He probably won't be waking up for a few days." _Kakashi had told Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna's family.

_"You all are just wasting your time. All the cool things you say and do don't matter. Heroes don't exist."_ Inari had uttered in response before running to his room, clutching something in his hand that looked like a picture.

Now, Team Seven was resting and relaxing before the big battle Kakashi predicted would occur the next day.

"What are we going to do about Naruto? Will he be awake when it comes time to fight Zabuza?" Sasuke asked Kakashi.

"There's a chance he will wake up in time, but that's a small chance. We must be prepared to fight without him." Kakashi replied and Sasuke nodded.

Sakura couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about fighting Zabuza and possibly the tracker ninja without Naruto. Sakura felt that without Naruto in the fight, winning would be much harder. Even though she might be a little afraid of Naruto, he was always something of a pillar of strength for Team Seven. He seemed so _unbeatable_ and seeing him exhausted to the point of sleeping for days was a bit jarring. Thinking about Sasuke and his progress was enough to rid her of the gloomy thoughts.

_'Yeah, that's right. Sasuke awakened his Sharingan and he's about to master an original jutsu straight from Kakashi-sensei! And I've improved a lot, too. We can't possibly lose' _Sakura thought cheerfully.

***The Next Day***

"We're leaving him in your care for now. He's pushed his body way past his limits. He really overdid it. If he does wake up, he still won't be at one-hundred percent." Kakashi told Tsunami with a smile. Team Seven, minus Naruto, was about to head out with Tazuna to the bridge. There was a good chance that Zabuza would be attacking today so the whole team was going to guard Tazuna.

Tsunami nodded and smiled kindly and graciously. She watched as her father and the kind shinobi from Konoha walked to their destination.

When Team Seven, minus Naruto, arrived at the bridge, they were met with the sight of fallen construction workers.

Tazuna gasped, "What the hell?! Someone was here! Someone got to them!" Anger filled his body as he gazed upon the hurt faithful workers.

_'So he's already here.' _Kakashi thought.

* * *

"Where the hell is everyone? They didn't leave without me, did they?" The newly awoken Naruto said as he dashed into the kitchen.

Tsunami stopped washing the dirty dishes to regard the disgruntled genin, "Oh Naruto, you're finally awake. Your friends have left for the bridge already. They gave you the day off." Tsunami answered with a kind smile.

"Ah! Those bastards! I can't believe they ditched me!" Naruto shouted as he dashed back into the room where he slept for nearly two whole days. Throwing on his sleeveless red shirt, baggy black pants, black sandals, black arm warmers and topping it off with his high-collared, black jacket, Naruto dashed out of the door in a hurry, muttering a nearly incoherent, "Later," to Tsunami.

Naruto was running through the trees at great speeds when he noticed wreckage ahead of him. Coming to a stop, Naruto observed the damage: sliced trees, stray branches, and a cut-up boar. Concluding that the damage was caused by a swordsman, Naruto smelled the area and caught the scent of two males that headed into the direction of Tazuna's house. Naruto put heading to the bridge on hold in favor of checking out what these two were up to and why they were going to Tazuna's.

* * *

Two swordsmen walked up to the front door of the bridge-builder's house. Cutting through the door, the two men ran in surprising the woman who was currently in the kitchen.

"So you're the daughter of the bridge-builder. You're coming with us now." One swordsman said.

From upstairs, Inari heard a scuffle and his mother's shout. Quickly running down the stairs, he was greeted by the sight of his mother on the ground covering her head, two swordsmen, and a sliced table as well as numerous broken dishes.

"No! Inari, don't come down here!" Tsunami warned desperately.

The two swordsmen turned to regard the little boy. The taller one drew his sword, smirking. "Gato only said we had to capture one hostage. I'll kill the boy."

"Please no! He's just a boy. Please don't hurt him." Tsunami pleaded, "I-I'll do whatever you want, but please don't hurt him." Tsunami finished through gritted teeth.

The two swordsmen receeded back, sheathing their swords. "Your mother came through for ya, kid."

Inari cowered back to the top of the steps, too afraid to do anymore. As his mother was tied up and dragged out of the house, he thought about his ever-smiling mother, about the shinobi from Konoha, about his father.

_'I'm too weak to do anything. I-I can't save my mom. I'm sorry mom. I'm so sorry. Daddy...'_ Inari thought as tears rapidly fell from his eyes. Even more tears fell from his eyes as he saw the swordsmen jump away from the property with his mother in tow. He brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He faintly heard the sound of rustling clothes, but he definitely heard the voice that said, "I'll get your mother back." And then, more rustling of clothes, and then nothing.

His head shot up as the voice registered after the person left.

_'Naruto...'_

* * *

Naruto replayed what he told Inari back in his head.

_'I'll get her back alright, but not before these goons lead me straight to Gato.' _Naruto thought with determination.

A smirk spread across Naruto's face. Gato will feel his wrath, and he will feel it soon, _very _soon.

**Oh-ho! Gato gon' get it. And yes, I wrote the top part of this chapter before anything else, and I wrote it the day I posted chapter 5. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to eat some chicken nuggets.**

**Review if you wanna be a cool mofo!**


	7. Double or Nothing

**I'm really enjoying writing for this story. It's how I've been getting my jollies recently. Damn, that sounded creepy.**

_Chapter 7: Double or Nothing_

_'So I was right after all' _Kakashi thought to himself as a mist gathered around Team Seven, minus Naruto, and Tazuna.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi. So those brats are still with you? The black-haired one is trembling again. Pitiful." Zabuza mocked, concealed by the mist.

Suddenly, the group was surrounded on all sides by Zabuza clones. Sasuke's growing smirk surprised Zabuza who thought the boy was shaking in fear.

"I'm trembling with excitement." Sasuke stated confidently.

"He's all yours Sasuke." Kakashi encouraged. He watched as Sasuke activated his Sharingan and, with his kunai, quickly cut down all the water clones. Zabuza noticed the change in Sasuke's eyes.

"Looks like you got yourself a rival, Haku." Zabuza told his partner. Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke recognized the shinobi as the so-called tracker ninja.

"So it seems."

* * *

Naruto stealthily followed the two swordsmen who abducted Tsunami. These goons were leading him straight to Gato and they were never the wiser. The swordsmen had long since knocked Tsunami unconscious and were carrying her so they could move quicker. To Naruto, though, they were slow as all hell.

Naruto looked up ahead and noticed a fairly large warehouse. It seemed that the warehouse was the goons' destination. Now that Naruto knew the location of Gato's base, the goons were expendable. Naruto drew one of his swords and Burst Stepped in front of the goons. Before any of them could even utter a single word, Naruto beheaded both of the swordsmen and grabbed Tsunami. Setting her down on the ground, Naruto created a shadow clone and ordered it to carry Tsunami back to the house.

With Tsunami rescued and Gato's location discovered, Naruto thought of a game plan. If he went in wrecking havoc, Gato would probably be alerted and evacuated. Naruto could also just blow the place to hell, but he wanted to be there, face-to-face with Gato, when he killed him. Naruto sighed. _'I guess that leaves me one choice.'_ Creating two shadow clones, Naruto transformed one into Tsunami, one into one of the goons, and he transformed himself into the other goon. Naruto also took the time to hide the bodies so no one stumbled across them and alerted Gato.

Walking into the warehouse, the transformed Naruto and his diguised clones walked past the guards who didn't question him. It seemed Naruto's Transformation Jutsu was top notch. No one stopped Naruto, so that was a good sign. Everyone just grinned at him in approval. Naruto wanted to cut into every single one of these bastards, but that would have to wait.

Naruto looked around the warehouse discreetly. None of the rooms stuck out as a room for a scumbag crime boss. If Naruto was right, Gato would be in the most extravagant room. Naruto moved up to the second floor, and his sight was immediately drawn to a room directly in the middle of the hallway. The room was painted a bright red color, there was a large desk with a short, chubby man sitting behind it, and various bottles of wine were displayed all over the desk.

Taking a shot in the dark, the disguised Naruto and his clones walked to the room. The man behind the desk immediately regarded Naruto.

"Ah, so you guys successfully abducted the bridge builder's daughter! Damn good job. At least some people around here can get the job done. You two serve me well!" The man praised.

Naruto couldn't contain the smirk that threatened to overwhelm his face. That statement just confirmed that he was Gato. Mentally laughing, Naruto let his disguise fall.

"Wh-Who the hell are you?!" Gato stuttered out. Naruto just laughed out loud this time.

"Your executioner." Naruto replied darkly.

His two clones made quick work of the closest guards while the real Naruto slashed into Gato with his claws. Revelling in the sound of Gato's pained screamed, Naruto repeatedly cut into the crime boss. Unsheathing one of his swords, he impaled Gato first, then channeled fire chakra to the blade, literally burning Gato from the inside. As Gato collapsed to the floor, Naruto pulled out his second sword and beheaded the crime boss.

Naruto pulled out both of his swords from Gato's body. By now, both of his clones dispelled. There were a few remaining goons who recoiled in fear as Naruto faced them. Naruto smirked and channeled wind chakra to his blades. Crossing the swords out in front of his torso, Naruto quickly uncrossed them in a slashing motion and a large 'X' made of wind cut into the goons.

Naruto turned and jumped out of the nearest window. He was about to dash off when he turned to face the warehouse again. Naruto made several shadow clones. Each retrieved a couple paper bombs from their weapon pouches and slapped them on the corners of the warehouse. Naruto dispelled the clones and charged one blade with fire chakra until the fire was basically roaring. Pushing wind chakra behind the powerful fire, the fire shot out like a massive flamethrower. The powerful flame detonated the bombs and the entire building exploded. The only thing remaining of the building was rubble.

Naruto powered down the chakra to his sword and sheathed it. Jumping to the trees, Naruto headed off to find his team.

* * *

Inari was standing just outside of his house staring out into the forest where he saw Naruto jump into.

_'He told me he'd get my mom back. I believe him.'_ Inari reaffirmed his belief in his thoughts.

About a minute later, Inari saw a figure jump out from the forest and land in front of him. Inari jumped back a little, but he smiled widely as he saw his mother, completely unwounded except for a slight bump on the head.

"You did it! You saved mom! You're really are a hero." Inari praised Naruto. Naruto-clone scowled a bit at being called a hero, but he smirked nonetheless.

"The boss did more than that. Right about now, he's probably taken care of Gato and is heading towards the bridge." The clone responded, "Before you ask, I'm a clone, kid."

"Oh. But you really got rid of Gato? That's amazing! Our country is saved!" Inari began laughing uncontrollably. Naruto hadn't seen the kid so happy since he arrived in Wave.

The clone brought Tsunami into the house and laid her in one of the rooms. Inari followed him and watched as the clone dispelled.

_'Thank you, Naruto! You're a real life hero even if you don't think so!'_

* * *

Naruto recollected the memories of his clone.

_'Heh, kid you got it all wrong. I'm no hero. That's for sure.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he continued his journey to the bridge.

* * *

"So I had it right. It was all an act. Hiding behind that mask, who do you think you're fooling?" Kakashi said in reference to Haku.

"I guess all that stuff about being a tracker ninja was all a hoax." Tazuna reasoned.

"They're definitely very familiar with each other. Think they've done this more than once?" Kakashi said half-jokingly.

"He's got some nerve facing us again." Sakura added.

"I'm taking him out. Just who does he think he's fooling, hiding behind that mask." Sasuke stated.

"You're so cool, Sasuke!" Sakura praised with a blush. Kakashi just looked at them with disbelief, _'Didn't I just say that?'_ Kakashi thought to himself.

"That boy is impressive. Even though they are only one-tenth the strength of the real Water Clone Jutsu, he did destroy them all." Haku said.

"Doesn't matter. That move gave us an advantage. Use it." Zabuza commanded and Haku nodded in response.

Haku became a quick moving cyclone as he began spinning and moving toward Sasuke with great speed. With the Sharingan aiding him, Sasuke was able to follow the movements easily and counter. Sasuke channeled lightning chakra to his kunai. The contact between Sasuke's and Haku's weapons caused the lightning to travel into Haku's senbon and electrocute him, allowing Sasuke to kick him in the face. Haku was sent several meters back.

"Hn. Is that the best you can do?" Sasuke taunted the phony tracker ninja.

Haku quickly regained his balance and unleashed an onslaught of senbon. Sasuke side stepped the senbon and was met with the quick offense of Haku's senbon. This time, Haku made sure not to make any lasting contact with Sasuke. Haku over extended on particular inward strike, and Sasuke grabbed Haku's arm and channeled as much lightning chakra as possible to the hand that was grasping Haku's arm. Haku gathered enough strength to attempt a kick at Sasuke's midsection. Sasuke anticipated the attack, so he simply jumped over Haku's leg and countered with a kick of his own. Haku fell forward and took a bit longer to stand up this time.

Zabuza was completely dumbfounded. Never had he seen someone run circles around Haku like this young Uchiha was currently doing.

"You should never have insulted these young shinobi. That was a mistake, itself. Coming back to challenge us again was the worst mistake." Kakashi stated.

Zabuza suddenly started laughing. "Haku if things keep going like this, we'll be the victims instead of them. Get on with it!" Zabuza demanded using his most authoritative tone. Haku nodded and began focusing his chakra.

Sasuke, with his Sharingan, could see the chakra twisting around Haku. "What is he trying?" He asked no one in particular.

"I'm sorry that it's come to this." Haku said as he made a unique hand sign. "Secret Jutsu: Crysal Ice Mirrors!"

As the name would suggest, mirrors of ice began forming and surrounding Sasuke at all sides. Observing the mirrors, Sasuke saw the chakra infused in each mirror. He was completely confused as Haku climbed _into_ one of the mirrors. Sasuke's eyes widened as Haku's image appeared in all of the mirrors.

_'Hold on..._' Sasuke focused his eyes more and he could see that Haku was moving with extreme speed between each of the mirrors. Sasuke's Sharingan was quickly becoming used to the movements. Sasuke could also faintly distinguish the sounds of his worried teammates, but he wasn't focusing on them right now. Sasuke willed his eyes to see _everything_, and track all Haku's movements. Slowly but surely, his eyes were becoming attuned.

Haku retrieved several senbon in each hand and shifted from mirror to mirror before throwing them, aiming to subdue Sasuke, yet not kill. Sasuke grabbed one of the senbon out of the air and expertly deflected every other senbon before throwing the one in his possession at the spot he anticipated Haku to appear. Haku was dumbfounded by Sasuke's near flawless performance when a single senbon, thrown by Sasuke, pierced his arm. Haku was even further bewildered as Sasuke's Sharingan began changing, _evolving_. Another tomoe developed in Sasuke's left eye.

Haku quickly realized the futility in fighting the young Uchiha. The boy could easily defend against any senbon offense and the more Haku attacked the more opportunities Sasuke had to deal a lethal blow. Even though it may be suicidal, Haku needed to attempt it for Zabuza.

_'That is what I, as his tool, must do.'_ Haku thought to himself. He would serve Zabuza faithfully for he is his precious person. Finding his second wind, Haku readied more senbon and attempted to increase his speed.

Haku pushed himself past his limitations and Sasuke was having trouble following the movements. Several senbon pierced Sasuke's legs, and Sasuke winced in pain. He deflected the rest.

_'He may have gotten a bit faster, but my eyes can still follow his movements. I just have to leave myself more time to react after I anticipate his actions.'_ Sasuke thought as he held his kunai out and his eyes darted around following Haku.

Haku prepared another barrage of senbon and threw them. Sasuke jumped to the side and created a lightning clone. Haku took advantage of Sasuke's slight momentary stillness and charged at Sasuke directly, this time, aiming for vital areas. Sasuke's back was turned and Haku stabbed into Sasuke's neck and kidney. Haku was surprised when his victim turned out to be the clone. Haku was literally shocked into stillness as the clone reverted back into pure electricity.

"But how? I am positive I struck you. How did I strike the clone instead?" Haku questioned as he was still paralyzed by the electricity.

"Isn't it obvious? I used the Replacement Jutsu. It may be just an academy technique, but it is definitely helpful." Sasuke stated with a smirk. Sasuke took advantage of Haku's temporary paralysis and flowed through hand signs. He crouched down slightly and held his right wrist with his left hand and focused his chakra, converting it into electricity. The lightning chakra gathered in Sasuke's right palm and it crackled loudly.

"It isn't perfect. But it's enough." Sasuke noted as he began charging forward. Thrusting his right arm forward aiming for Haku's heart, Sasuke shouted, "Chidori!"

* * *

Kakashi placed his hand on his forehead protector, preparing to reveal his Sharingan.

Zabuza laughed, "Sharingan again? You're no fun, Kakashi, using the same old tricks." Zabuza mocked as he charged toward Kakashi quickly with a kunai in his hand. Zabuza thrusted the kunai forward, aiming for Kakashi's Sharingan. Kakashi used his free hand to block the strike.

"If my Sharingan really is just an old trick, then why are you trying to stop me from using it?" Kakashi taunted.

"Let a person see your techniques too many times and he'll find a way to use it against you." Zabuza responded with a laugh.

"Count yourself lucky. You're the only person alive to see my Sharingan twice. There won't be a third time." Kakashi stated, "Let's finish this once and for all." Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector and unveiled the Sharingan.

"So you really are going to use the same trick twice. Fool. Our last battle was more than just win or lose. Haku and I discovered secrets about that Sharingan of yours. For example, you can't see into the future. You were just playing mind games in our last fight, but now I know how to beat the Sharingan, thanks to Haku." Zabuza explained. He made a single hand sign and muttered, "Hidden Mist Jutsu."

Kakashi's eyes widened as a thick mist developed. _'This mist is too thick, even for Zabuza!' _Kakashi thought surprised. He snapped to attention when he heard the sound of something whizzing through the air. Turning around, Kakashi sighted several shuriken heading for him so he pulled out a kunai and deflected them.

"Very skillful, Kakashi." Zabuza's voice drew Kakashi's attention and when Kakashi turned to face Zabuza, he was surprised to see Zabuza's eyes closed. "The next time you see me will be the last time you see anything." Zabuza stated, "With my eyes closed, you can't play your mind games on me." Zabuza faded away in the mist again. As Zabuza was focusing on sensing Kakashi without the use of his eyes, he heard the distinct crackling of compressed lightning. The sound was coming from Haku's crystal ice mirrors. A pained yell accompanied the sound of the lightning. Zabuza knew Haku didn't know any lightning style ninjutsu. He had a bad feeling that the Uchiha had managed to kill Haku. Unbridled rage overtook him and he readied himself to kill that Uchiha boy.

"Brilliant. But with your eyes closed you can't see me either." Kakashi said reminding Zabuza of his presence.

_'If I go after the Uchiha now, Kakashi will get in my way. I'll have to deal with him first.'_ Zabuza thought, resolving himself to avenging Haku after killing Kakashi.

"Have you forgotten who I am? I am the Demon of Kirigakure. I can kill you by sound alone!" Zabuza responded.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" A massive gust of wind caused the mist to disperse, revealing Zabuza who was inching behind Kakashi.

Kakashi and Sakura were surprised. They both knew that voice. Naruto was here, but no one could pinpoint his exact location.

Zabuza felt a presence behind him. He opened his eyes and saw the fox-eared, orange-haired, purple-eyed genin smirking at him confidently. Zabuza found the expression on the boy's face to be very annoying. Naruto noticed the look of annoyance on Zabuza's face and his smirk grew in response.

"Take it from me. You're no demon. Allow me to show you what a _real_ demon can do."

**And there's chapter 7 for you guys.**

**Review if you wanna be a cool mofo!**


	8. Demon vs Demon

**A couple things I wanted to address: Recently, I've gotten some confusion about the character growth. As to why Team Seven is as powerful as they are, I always believe people have the capacity to learn whatever they damn well please. Add the use of Shadow Clones and different variants of Shadow Clones, and you got yourself a gold mine. Of course, Sasuke can't make nearly as many clones as Naruto. So to keep everyone up to date on Team Seven's abilities:**

**Naruto Uzumaki (Out of Five)  
Ninjutsu: 2.5  
Taijutsu: 4  
Genjutsu: 1  
Intelligence: 2.5  
Strength: 3.5  
Speed: 4  
Stamina: 5  
Hand Seals: 2.5  
Total: 25**

**Sasuke Uchiha  
Ninjutsu: 3.5  
Taijutsu: 3  
Genjutsu: 1.5  
Intelligence: 3  
Strength: 3  
Speed: 3.5  
Stamina: 3  
Hand Seals: 3.5  
Total: 24**

**Sakura Haruno  
Ninjutsu: 3  
Taijutsu: 1.5  
Genjutsu: 3.5  
Intelligence: 4  
Strength: 2.5 (Kakashi taught Sakura a bit about channeling chakra to separate body parts.)  
Speed: 1.5  
Stamina: 1  
Hand Seals: 4.5  
Total: 21.5**

**TL;DR: Team Seven has advanced quicker because Naruto and Sasuke have been making great use of clones and Kakashi has been teaching them more.**

_Chapter 8: Demon vs. Demon_

The crystal ice mirrors surrounding Sasuke began to dissipate, confirming Haku's death. Sasuke held his throbbing arm. Kakashi had warned him before that performing a jutsu when haven't completely mastered can and usually will backfire. Sasuke's Chidori succeeded in killing Haku, but Sasuke was feeling acute stabbing pains in his arm, no doubt the after effects of an improper Chidori.

"Damn it. I didn't even need to use a Chidori, so why did I feel the need to use the strongest jutsu I have on someone who couldn't defend himself at the time?" Sasuke berated himself.

When Sasuke looked over to where the rest of his team was, he heard a distinct voice shout, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Sasuke had to cover his face because the wind was so strong. He couldn't help but smirk a bit.

_'So he's finally decided to show up, huh?'_

* * *

"Take it from me. You're no demon. Allow me to show you what a _real_ demon can do." Naruto taunted while drawing his swords. "Hey Kakashi, you don't mind if I take a shot at this guy, right?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi seemed to think about it for a bit before nodding his approval with a smile. "You've made a lot of progress in such a short time. Besides, I let Sasuke fight his opponent on his own, so it's only fair I let you do the same. But if things take a turn for the worse, I'll have to interfere."

Zabuza appeared to be torn between being insulted or laughing in amusement. What he really wanted to do was kill the Uchiha for killing Haku, but now he had to deal with a child and afterwards, Kakashi. "Fine kid. I'll humor you." Zabuza said raising his sword.

Naruto started of by pointing one sword straight at Zabuza and channeling fire chakra to the blade and wind chakra behind it. Fire shot off the blade like a flamethrower straight at Zabuza. Zabuza used his massive sword as a shield and blocked the flame. Naruto burst stepped behind Zabuza and used his second sword to unleash a wind slash at Zabuza's back. Zabuza, sensing the attack, jumped into the air. Naruto flashed through hand signs and shouted, "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" A large fireball headed toward Zabuza, who's eyes widened in response.

Naruto smirked to himself as the fireball appeared to engulf Zabuza. His smirk fell when he sensed Zabuza behind him.

"Congratulations for defeating my water clone, kid." Zabuza mocked.

"You know, there's something I've been meaning to tell you since I got here. Gato's dead. I killed him, so you're not getting paid even if you do perform a miracle and beat us. You have no reason to fight us, but I'll still take you on anyway." Naruto stated darkly.

Naruto's teammates and even Zabuza seemed a bit shocked that Naruto managed to kill Gato, but ultimately, he didn't care. This fight stopped being about the monetary reward the second Haku was killed by the Uchiha.

"So? I'm still going to kill you and your teammates, brat. Nothing's changed." Zabuza declared as he jumped onto the surface of the water.

Naruto cursed to himself. Among all the things he's learned, water-walking was not one of them. Creating a dozen shadow clones, he ordered them to attack Zabuza. Each clone burst stepped and simultaneously attacked a different. Zabuza expertly took them out, only receiving a few shallow cuts in the exchange. Zabuza created a line of water clones to guard him while he performed hand signs. Naruto sent more shadow clones at Zabuza, all the while, sending wind slashes at exposed water clones, dispelling them one by one.

Zabuza finished his hand signs and bellowed, "Water Style: Water Vortex Jutsu." The vortex blew through the water clones and headed for Naruto. Naruto created a line of clones and each of them performed the Wind Style: Great Breakthrough. Naruto, himself, blew a massive fireball from his mouth, that was enhanced by all the wind. The massive fire power was enough to evaporate the water. Steam was the result of the clash and it obstructed the two combatants from each other's view. Naruto decided to take advantage of the momentary blindness by commanding all of his clones to wrap an explosive tag around a kunai and throw it through the mist where they suspected Zabuza to be. Naruto channeled as much fire and wind chakra to his blade and swung it in a wide arc following the kunai. The flame from the sword detonated the tags and Naruto heard a massive explosion on the other side of the steam.

* * *

"We should start calling him the Elemental Swordsman from now on, huh?" Kakashi whispered to Sakura. Sakura nodded her head in response before footsteps caught her attention. She was met with the sight of Sasuke cradling his right arm.

"Sasuke are you alright? Why are you holding your arm like that?" Sakura questioned her crush.

"I'm fine. I defeated the phony tracker ninja with an imperfect Chidori. My arm is like this because of my own foolishness." Sasuke admitted, "How's Naruto doing against Zabuza?" Sasuke asked to no one in particular.

"He's doing pretty well. As soon as Zabuza steps foot on land, I suspect Naruto will finish the fight." Kakashi surmised. Sasuke and Sakura just watched on in interest.

* * *

"Think we got him?" One of the Naruto clones asked the original.

"Doubt it. He seems like the kind of stubborn bastard who just stay down." The real Naruto responded. Naruto's ears caught a subtle sound and suddenly he jumped to avoid a wide arc sword strike. His clones weren't so lucky.

"Not bad, kid. You almost got me there." Zabuza remarked holding up his sword. _'A long range battle with this kid will just end in more draws. I wonder how good his close quarters skills are.'_ Zabuza pondered.

Naruto decided not to respond, instead, he burst stepped behind Zabuza and used his sword as a makeshift flamethrower and shot it out at Zabuza. As predicted, Zabuza held up his sword to block the flame, so Naruto threw his second sword, charged with wind chakra, at the center of Zabuza's blade where the flame was hitting. Zabuza responded by swinging his sword out, blocking the sword, and jumping to the side. By doing this, Zabuza narrowly avoided having the wind chakra empowered blade go through his sword and him.

Naruto created a dozen clones and commanded them to burst step around Zabuza to disorient him. Zabuza was distracted with the clones, and the clones managed many shallow strikes all over Zabuza's body. The true purpose was to occupy Zabuza and allow Naruto to perform something he had been working on during his week of training: _special_ clones.

Taking a bit longer than usual to create the clones, Naruto sent them out to reinforce the clones he had sent out before. Zabuza was fending off the attacks of the clones, occasionally taking a swipe at them and dispelling a few of them at a time, but when Zabuza hit the special clones, they exploded with powerful fire. One exploded on Zabuza's arm. His sword flew out of his grip and his arm was essentially disabled. Zabuza, in a final effort to get away from the clone barrage, quickly created a mist. Due to the number of clones around, Naruto's sense of hearing wasn't any help in finding Zabuza in the mist, so the time it took Naruto to blow the mist away again, Zabuza escaped the clone onslaught and regained his bearings.

Zabuza's created as many water clones as he could muster, and after producing the clones, he started to pant in exhaustion. The water clones did well in protecting him. Naruto's shadow clones and Zabuza's water clones occupied each other. Zabuza looked over to where Naruto was and was surprised to find that he was no longer there. Frantically searching the battle field, Zabuza sighted Naruto standing beside the kubikiribōchō. Anger flowed through his body as Naruto retrieved the sword from the ground and took a few test swings.

"Not a bad sword you got here. I think I'll take this with me. A dead man doesn't have much use for a weapon anyway." Naruto taunted with a smirk while pointing the rather large sword at Zabuza. Zabuza let his rage control him as he charged at Naruto with a kunai. As fast as his feet would take him, he sped over to Naruto. Naruto smirked and closed his eyes. Zabuza was just about to thrust his kunai forward when he felt something stop him in place. Two remaining shadow clones had latched onto him. Zabuza struggled against his captors, but it was fruitless.

"Let's test this sword out." Naruto bellowed as he channeled fire and wind chakra to the massive sword and slammed the sword onto the ground. A tornado of fire shot out from the sword and slammed into Zabuza, and subsequently, the clones holding him. The fire tornado engulfed him.

"I'm definitely keeping this sword." Naruto grinned as he looked down at his new weapon. He could never gather that much power in his twin swords. Though, he would have to consider having the sword reforged since the blade was considerably larger than his body.

Naruto looked to where Zabuza was after the attack cleared. The body was charred and barely recognizable. Naruto crinkled his nose in disgust. His ears twitched as he heard his teammates approaching. Kakashi praised him for defeating such a high level shinobi, Sasuke seemed to inspect his new weapon, and Sakura tried to look anywhere but the charred remains of Zabuza. Naruto hid it well, but he was fairly exhausted. The amount of fireballs, massive gusts of wind, fire blasts, wind slashes, clones, and burst steps he performed and created really drained him and his poor chakra control didn't help at all. His gaze trailed to his new sword and his mood brightened slightly. He was excited to discover what he could do with this powerful weapon.

* * *

Team Seven said their farewells to Tazuna and his family. Inari clung to Naruto with barely restrained tears and Naruto was completely fed up with it, but he didn't give any outward sign of annoyance, though he didn't reciprocate any of the little boy's affections. Naruto did like to think he wasn't a total asshole to strangers, at least not the ones who don't treat him like a monster. The ones who do... Naruto growled to himself.

As Team Seven began their journey back to Konoha, they engaged in minor conversations about their thoughts on the mission, their progress in training, Naruto's new sword, and Kakashi mentioned Naruto's new title as the Elemental Swordsman, but Naruto slowly drifted away in his thoughts. He thought of what he really desired, he briefly thought of his team, he thought about the Kyuubi, about what his life was and could be, and then his thoughts returned to what he really desired. Naruto slowly realized that he didn't really know what he desired anymore. Revenge didn't seem as enticing, yet he certainly didn't want to be a protector of anything that had to do with Konoha.

_'So where the hell does that leave me?'_ Naruto thought in frustration. Truthfully, he didn't know what he was fighting for anymore. Naruto sure as hell wasn't ever going to forgive Konoha for his dreadful childhood, but he didn't know if he truly wanted revenge. Naruto took a deep, relaxing breath, and reevaluated his thoughts. If he were honest with himself, Naruto wanted acknowledgement, but not for the reasons he wanted when he was younger. Now, he wanted to be acknowledged for his strength, nothing more and nothing less. _'Screw being a protector, or a revenge-driven maniac.'_ Naruto smirked, his resolve was clear. He would be the most powerful shinobi and he would be feared.

**Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli believed a prince should focus not on being loved by his subjects, but being feared. Maybe Naruto took a crash course in European History and really liked the cut of Machiavelli's jib. I feel like I didn't do the fight with Zabuza enough justice, but I do like Naruto being called the Elemental Swordsman. I think it's a pretty cool title at least. I guess I should explain Naruto's **_**special **_**clone. He channels fire chakra while creating a Shadow Clone. Clone goes boom.**

**Review if you wanna be a cool mofo! Sorry for a short chapter, but school work's gotta get done.**


	9. Chunin Exam: New Appearances

**This is a very delicate spot I'm in right now. I guess you guys will see what I mean later on. **

_Chapter 9: Chunin Exams: New Appearances_

"It seems like the jinchuuriki is becoming quite the little powerhouse, and the sword he's carrying around brings back fond memories." A cloak wearing man said. His features were alarmingly shark-like, "What is that look I see in your eyes? Don't tell me you're feeling nostalgic, Itachi."

"I've told you before, Kisame. I have no ties to this village anymore. I am only here for one reason: Capture the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi without complication. Do not forget." Another man, named Itachi, wearing the same cloak stated firmly in a monotonic manner. As his hat tipped up slightly, his eyes became visible. He was bearing a fully matured Sharingan.

* * *

Naruto growled lightly to himself. After abandoning his revenge, the Kyuubi had become restless, constantly trying to persuade Naruto to take revenge on those who have wronged him. The Kyuubi's argument was persuasive, but Naruto's argument was even more compelling.

_"If I went around killing every ignorant bastard, I'd have an endless hit list."_ He had said to the Kyuubi.

Ever since then, Naruto had become increasingly more irritable and temperamental. He snapped at practically everybody and threatened them as well. Naruto presumed this was due to the Kyuubi sending more of his demonic chakra Naruto's way in an attempt to overwhelm him and take control of his body.

_'Well he can send all of his chakra into me. There's no way I'm giving him control.'_ Naruto thought in determination as he and his large group of clones practiced several fire style techniques including a few new ones that Kakashi had shown him. Naruto also trained in improving his skill with his new sword, so he was more comfortable using it in battle. Naruto made sure to have the large sword reforged so it was less awkward to wield. The finished product was a shorter, thinner blade that was as long as the length of his body. The strange gaps in the blade were filled out as the blade was made shorter. Kubikiribōchō was still a fairly large blade, but now it was more proportional to Naruto.

It had been just over a week since the mission to Wave, and things just seemed to fall back into normalcy. The whole thing just left Naruto with an odd feeling that he assumed were just feelings one would have after experiencing a seemingly monumentous event and suddenly returning back to their normal life. And of course, returning to normalcy also meant returning to bitch-work.

Naruto sighed and looked over to his teammates. Sasuke was with Kakashi, training to perfect the Chidori. Kakashi explained to Sasuke that he needed more speed if he wanted to use the technique efficiently. Sakura had went above and beyond and asked for help in physical training, as she had felt that she hadn't done much during the mission. Kakashi had readily agreed and gave Sakura a special set of leg weights and weights that accompanied arm warmers. So Sakura was currently performing basic physical exercises. Naruto's teammates have avoided speaking to him, at least more than usual, in fear of setting him off, but overall, Team Seven was making very good progress.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, pen in hand, signing his name on several documents, and occasionally stamping some other documents. By now, paperwork was muscle memory for the aged Hokage. The large stack of paperwork that he swore this morning would never be completed was actually all filled out and he had some time to relax. Closing his eyes to catch up on much needed rest, Hiruzen napped peacefully.

His blissful rest was disturbed by an earth-shaking crash from right outside his office. Snapping to attention immediately, he glanced outside the window to be met with a very unusual sight. Standing outside his office on top of the head of a giant toad was his flamboyant student, the toad sage, the sannin, Jiraiya.

Team Seven quickly got over their shock of the sudden light earthquake and looked over to what looked like a giant toad and long white haired man standing on the head of the toad.

"Lord Jiraiya has returned?" Kakashi asked rhetorically in mild shock.

_'Lord, huh? The guy must be a big shot if Kakashi is calling him that.'_ Naruto thought curiously.

Sasuke was wondering about Jiraiya's status, as well. Sakura couldn't stop staring at the massive toad.

"How can toads even get that large? What has that man been feeding it?" Sakura questioned pointing a shaky finger at the toad.

Jiraiya hopped in the Hokage's office through the window and the giant toad disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Jiraiya, what brings you here? Come to visit an old man and finally take his place in this office?" Hiruzen half-joked.

"No way! I'm not Hokage material, Sarutobi-sensei. I'm a free man and I need all the free time I can get to do my research." Jiraiya stated while frantically waving his hands in front of his face.

The two men shared a laugh, before becoming serious. Hiruzen knew Jiraiya must have a good reason for returning, otherwise, he would still be keeping track of Orochimaru's movements and other threats to the village.

"I'll cut to the chase. The Akatsuki are starting to make their move. They are planning to attack sometime during the Chunin Exams. There will most likely be two of them, because the Akatsuki work in pairs. You should know what this means." Jiraiya informed.

"Yes, he will be in danger. I trust you will be there to protect him?" Hiruzen asked Jiraiya who nodded in response.

"While we're on the subject, how is my godson doing?" Jiraiya inquired curiously.

The elderly Hokage chuckled nervously, "I'll let you decide when you see him. He's developed in a very interesting way." Hiruzen answered, "He's exceptionally strong and he's like a very serious, sarcastic, and very volatile Minato."

Jiraiya shuddered, imagining what Minato would have been like if he were sarcastic and volatile. "Sounds like a very interesting brat." Jiraiya said, "Should we inform the other jonin about the Akatsuki?" Jiraiya asked his sensei.

Hiruzen thought about that for a while. "No, that won't be necessary. Telling more people than we have to will only hinder us for people will seem more guarded and the enemy will surely catch on and escape. This stays between us for now, okay?" Hiruzen stated and Jiraiya nodded.

***The Next Day***

"It is time to choose the candidates for the Chunin Exams. Those in charge of the rookies, please step forward." Hiruzen commanded.

Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma walked forward.

"Are your squads prepared for the exams, despite their inexperience?" Hiruzen inquired, "Only you can decide whether or not they are ready."

"I, Kakashi Hatake, recommend Team Seven, consisting of Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno to take the exams." Kakashi recited.

"I, Kurenai Yuhi, recommend Team Eight, consisting of Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame to take the exams." Kurenai recited.

"I, Asuma Sarutobi, recommend Team Ten, consisting of Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi to take the exams." Asuma recited as well.

"A bunch of rookies taking this exam this time around? This year's Chunin Exams should prove to be interesting." A jonin in the back said and mutters of agreement followed.

* * *

Naruto, surprisingly, was relaxing in the branch of a tree in the center of the village. Kakashi had told him and his teammates to meet him at this time, but given Kakashi's track record, Naruto had an hour or two to burn, so he put training on the back burner and decided to relax for once.

Naruto's peace didn't last long as he heard a few childlike yells and the sound of a disgruntled teen. He cracked an eye open and peered down at the disturbance. Naruto saw a make-up wearing man in a black full body suit holding up a young boy off his feet by the collar. Next to teen stood a blond woman with a metal fan on her back. In front of the two older kids, stood two younger kids, one being a girl and the other a boy. Naruto briefly wondered what the young kid did to warrant such abuse.

"Please, mister, can you let him go? We were playing and he bumped you by accident, he didn't mean anything hurtful by it." The younger girl pleaded desperately.

_'Ah, so that's what happened.' _Naruto thought as he got his answer. That make-up wearing creep was an asshole, through and through.

"You know something? I hate little brats like you. I'll put you in your place." The make-up wearing man said to the young boy in his grasp with a slightly sinister smile.

"Come on, Kankuro. Put the kid down." Kankuro's sister, Temari commanded, but Kankuro did not comply.

Naruto sighed. He may not be a hero, but he wasn't about to watch some helpless kid get beat up by some creep. Naruto burst stepped beside Kankuro and cut into Kankuro's arm with his claws. Kankuro released the young boy and Naruto quickly grabbed him by the back of his shirt and set him down. The other two young kids ran to the boy, frantically asking if he was okay.

"You know something? I hate scumbags like you. I'll put you in your place." Naruto mocked Kankuro.

Kankuro back up a bit, grasping his injured arm. When Kankuro looked into Naruto's purple eyes, he saw something he only saw in Gaara. Add to that, the fox-eared boy's intimidating appearance and the large sword strapped to his back. Suddenly, Kankuro was doubled over in pain as Naruto reappeared in front of him and buried his fist in Kankuro's midsection. Naruto kicked Kankuro in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Tell me, what's a couple of Suna ninja like yourselves doing in Konoha? You better give me a good reason or I'll kill you both where you stand." Naruto said darkly, taking notice of the symbol on their forehead protectors.

"We're here for the Chunin Exams!" Temari exclaimed frantically as she flashed her permission card. _'The only other person who makes me this scared is Gaara, but this guy is deadly and he really will kill us if he wants to.'_ Temari thought in fear.

"Kankuro, you're an embarassment to our village." The voice coming from the tree, that Naruto was just in, drew Naruto's attention and frightened Kankuro and Temari even further.

_'How's that possible? I didn't even sense him.'_ Naruto thought, gritting his teeth.

"Oh, Gaara! I was just-"

"Shut up, or I'll kill you." Gaara interrupted Kankuro, then he turned to regard Naruto, "I apologize for any trouble my teammate has caused." Gaara's apology seemed insincere to Naruto.

Naruto didn't respond. He just watched as the three Suna shinobi walked away. Suddenly, Gaara turned back around to stare at Naruto.

_'He was able to bat Kankuro away easily, and his appearance is not natural. Who is he?' _Gaara thought to himself.

"What is your name?" Gaara asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki. How about you?" Naruto inquired with genuine curiosity.

"I am Gaara." Gaara answered. Then, he turned to walk away with his teammates trailing behind him slightly.

"Excuse me," The young girl's voice caught Naruto's attention, "Thank you for saving Konohamaru! Anyway, my name is Moegi and this is Udon." The little girl said pointing to the glasses-wearing little boy next to her. Naruto looked at each of them and noticed the one called Konohamaru staring at him intently.

"Teach me how to do that." Konohamaru demanded of Naruto. Naruto stared blankly at the kid.

"No." Naruto simply said before turning around and jumping away, leaving three gaping children behind him.

* * *

"Naruto, why are you so late?" Sakura asked curiously. Kakashi, she was used to, but Naruto was never late.

"Why are you on time? You know who our sensei is, right?" Naruto responded while leaning against the railing of the bridge he and his team were currently standing on, patiently waiting for their sensei's arrival.

Sakura sighed, realizing the truth in Naruto's statement. Sasuke allowed a small smile to cross his face. The team waited for a few more minutes before Kakashi finally arrived, holding out three certificates to his students.

"I know this is kind of sudden, but I recommended all three of you for the Chunin Exams." Kakashi said, handing out the certificates to his students respectively.

_'Funny how things work out. Looks like I'll be seeing those Suna shinobi again, especially the red-haired one.'_ Naruto thought, a bit excited at the chance to fight the red-haired Suna shinobi, as well as receive a promotion.

_'Being a chunin, means having more authority and more acknowledgement. Oh, and no more bitch-work. That's nice.'_ Naruto grinned at the thought.

* * *

"Lord Orochimaru, what should we do? Should we attend the Chunin Exams and capture the young Uchiha?" A man with ash-gray hair asked while tilting up his glasses.

Orochimaru weighed his options, "Heading out to these Chunin Exams would mean encountering the Akatsuki, and nothing good would come of that. Our opportunity will reveal itself soon, but for now, we will allow the citizens of Konoha to draw breath from this Earth for a little while longer."

**Oh-ho! Deviations! Ah man, I really wish I had the artistic talent to draw Naruto as he is in this story, but I'm artistically retarded, so that's not going to happen.**

**Review if you wanna be a cool mofo!**


	10. Chunin Exam: True Power

**Breaking Benjamin helps me write. Gotta love BB.**

_Chapter 10: Chunin Exams: True Power_

Holding his exam certificate out, Naruto read the words on the paper for what seemed like the thousandth time. Naruto couldn't get the red-haired kid, named Gaara, out of his mind. Something seemed off about him in a familiar sense, but Naruto couldn't quite pinpoint just what that something was. Naruto decided not to dwell on it, because he figured he would find out what that something was very soon for today was the start of the Chunin Exams.

Kakashi said that Team Seven needed to meet in room 301 of the Academy for the start of the exams, so that was where Naruto was heading now. Naruto decided to walk there instead of jumping across the rooftops. All of the villagers seemed to look at him warily. Word had spread quickly that Naruto had killed a powerful rogue-nin single-handedly. The sword strapped to Naruto's back was a testament to that. The villagers didn't even whisper any harsh words to him, because they were afraid any provocation would invoke Naruto's wrath, and the shinobi seemed to look at him with something akin to fearful respect.

Naruto turned his head slightly to the left to face a familiar white-haired individual who was apparently grinning at him. _'That's that Jiraiya guy. Why's he looking at me with that shit-eating grin on his face?'_ Naruto thought in mild confusion. Naruto stopped walking and turned all the way around to fully face Jiraiya.

"You got some business with me or something?" Naruto asked pointing a finger at the eccentric sannin.

Jiraiya laughed out loud and crossed his arms. "Your name is Naruto, right? I've heard a lot about you from Sarutobi-sensei."

Naruto's eyebrows rose, prompting Jiraiya to continue. "After you make it past the second stage of the Chunin Exams, I'm going to make a fine shinobi out of you." Jiraiya stated.

Naruto was completely dumbfounded. _'What does a sannin want with me?'_

"If I may ask, why the hell do you want to train me?" Naruto asked cautiously. It certainly wasn't every day that a sannin offers to train him.

"Maybe I just see the same potential in you that I saw in my other students, like the 4th Hokage." Jiraiya replied, thinking on his feet. Jiraiya's real reason for wanting to train Naruto was so he would be able to combat the Akatsuki later on.

Naruto was still wary of the offer, but he accepted it. All that was left to do, was to get past the second stage of the exams and he would be getting exclusive training by a sannin. He would be stupid not to accept.

With that, Jiraiya disappeared in a cloud of smoke, muttering something about getting some research done. Naruto could faintly make out a light blush on the man's face and he heard a small giggle, before Jiraiya completely disappeared.

_'Do I even want to know what he was researching?'_

* * *

Naruto met with his team outside of the Academy. Together, they all walked inside and went up the stairs. They spotted a large group of candidates standing in front of two shinobi who were blocking a door. The sign on the door read 301, so this was supposedly their destination.

"Please allow us to enter." A strange looking boy with a bowl cut and large eyebrows asked politely of the two shinobi blocking the door. His response was a chuckle, courtesy of the two shinobi, and a backhand that sent him to the floor. A double bun haired girl tried next to convince the two shinobi to let them through, but she was denied and hit as well.

"Jokes over. Drop the illusion." Sasuke told the two shinobi whom looked shocked at the sudden command. A few of the candidates mumbled in confusion.

Naruto grunted. "It's so obvious. We only walked up one flight of steps, so there's no way we could be on the third floor." Then Naruto turned to look at the genuinely confused candidates, "Can you guys even count? You're all a bunch of dumbasses if you couldn't see through it, right Sakura? I know you of all people caught on to this right away." Naruto said turning to his pink-haired teammate.

Sakura laughed lightly and agreed. She _was_ the most efficient in the field of genjutsu on her team.

Some candidates took being called a dumbass badly and called out to Naruto who silenced them with a heavy, threatening glare. Neji Hyuga looked at Team Seven with mild interest. They had the Uchiha, who was rumored to be the rookie of the year, and Naruto, whose presence demanded respect. _'Interesting group of rookies this year.'_ Neji thought.

Team Seven didn't feel like wasting any more time so they walked to the real room 301, where Kakashi stood, waiting for them.

"Good. All of you made it. If any of you decided not to take the exams, neither of you would have been able to do so." Kakashi informed his students. Hearing that, Sakura felt that she made the correct choice. Before, she was doubting herself because there was a chance she would have to face Sasuke or Naruto, and she knew that she couldn't beat either of those two.

"I want to congratulate you three, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, do your best in those exams." Kakashi finished with a smile. His teammates nodded and walked forward. Naruto threw open the door and walked through, his teammates following.

The room was filled to the brim with candidates from different villages. The age group ranged from pre-teen to adult. Naruto's eyes scanned the room for the familiar red hair. He found who he was looking for in the corner of the room. Gaara seemed to feel someone staring at him so he looked toward Naruto. They both held that intense stare before both turning away.

"Wow. Looks like there's some tough competition." Sakura remarked.

"Get real. They won't stand a chance." Naruto and Sasuke said in unison. They looked at each other briefly, smirked a bit, then turned to face the room again.

"Hey Sasuke!" A feminine voice reached Team Seven's ears and girl in purple latched onto Sasuke's back, wrapping her arms around his neck affectionately.

"Let go of Sasuke, Ino-pig!" Sakura hissed out, holding up her clenched fists. Naruto looked at the event with boredom and turned to where he heard more approaching footsteps.

"She'll never change, troublesome woman." Shikamaru said in a bored tone. Choji followed behind him and waved to Naruto who nodded his head in response.

"So you guys made it. Not that it'll make a difference, because my team is going to win this thing." Kiba announced and the puppy on his head barked in agreement. The rest of Team Eight followed behind Kiba.

Naruto scoffed, "Yeah right, Kiba. The day you win anything over me will be the day I sprout wings and fly."

"That's funny, fox-boy, because last time I checked, you were the dead-last in the Academy." Kiba said with a smirk.

Naruto smirked back and shook his head, "You keep thinking that, fool." The rookies who weren't on Team Seven took notice of the sword strapped to Naruto's back and they asked him about. Naruto, himself, didn't answer them, but they were surprised to hear the story of how Naruto killed a crime boss and defeated a powerful rogue-ninja. Some were still disbelieving and surmised that Kakashi had done all the work.

* * *

Walking out of the testing room, Naruto followed Anko Mitarashi, the proctor for the second stage of the exam. The first part of the exam made Naruto tap into his creative side, and it was also a frustrating experience for him.

After Ibiki Morino, the proctor for the first stage of the exams, explained the questionable rules and handed out the tests, Naruto drew the conclusion that the test was about information gathering and how one goes about doing so. Ibiki's odd rules about point deductions from cheating got Naruto suspicious and he figured that out just as other candidates seemed to do, but he didn't have the slightest clue as to how he would cheat discreetly.

Ibiki then mentioned that it was time for the tenth question, which was an all-or-nothing type of question, or so he had said. It turned out the question was one of vital decision making. If you stayed in, despite the risks, you passed, because that was an important quality of a chunin.

Anko led the candidates to a large forest. "This is the Forest of Death, the site of the second stage. You will spend five days in there trying to retrieve a scroll. We will give you one type of scroll, a Heaven or Earth scroll, and you are responsible for getting the other. After getting both scrolls with every member of you team still able to participate, heda to the tower in the center of the forest, and that'll be the end of the second stage. In there, anything goes. Know what that means? You're all at a high risk of dying." Anko said with an unusually chilling smile.

The genin were ushered to a make-shift office where they were given either a Heaven or an Earth scroll.

"Oh man, that place looks creepy." Sakura muttered with a slight shiver.

"It's supposed to be creepy. Why do you think they call it the Forest of Death?" Anko questioned cheerfully.

Naruto scoffed, "A couple of rapid rats and stupid pigeons living in a forest hardly deserves the name the Forest of Death."

Anko's strange smiling face turned directly to Naruto and she quickly threw a kunai at Naruto, whom only shifted his head to the right slightly to avoid the kunai. Anko disappeared and reappeared behind Naruto, whom anticipated the movement and drew his sword and pointed it behind his body at Anko. The two were both caught in a fatal position. Anko's smile seemed to widen, "You seem like the kind of guy that will do some killing in that forest. Make me proud."

Both let their weapons fall, and Anko walked back to the front.

"Before I let you kids go, I need to give you these consent forms, because some of you won't be coming back. If I don't have you sign these forms, I'll be held responsible for your deaths. Do you believe that?" Anko started laughing.

Naruto sighed. Anko was certifiably insane, no arguments.

* * *

Team Seven sat down a decent distance away from the other teams as they discussed strategies. Naruto thought they should kick the ass of every team they come across and burn any scroll that they didn't need. Sakura denied the idea, because she believed they shouldn't fight any unnecessary battles, and Sasuke agreed with Naruto's plan, but he didn't outwardly show it. Team Seven did come to a general consensus: they would completely dominate whatever teams they came across until they got an Earth scroll.

Naruto smirked to himself. He had overheard several teams speak of their plans to go after the "brats." Of course, brats was a reference to Team Seven. Naruto informed his team of the apparent hunting of which they would be the recipient.

All the teams approached their separate starting gates. Anko announced that the exam started and each team threw open the gates and ran in.

Team Seven in particular followed Naruto's senses. According to Naruto, there were two teams approaching from either direction: one was definitely heading toward them and the other seemed to be indecisive.

Naruto turned and headed toward the team that was heading toward them. His team followed behind him.

"Let's knock off this team first. They might just have an Earth scroll." Naruto commanded. His team nodded and continued to follow him.

Naruto stopped suddenly and returned to the forest floor. His teammates landed with him and they prepared for their enemy to find them.

"I think we'll do you brats a favor, and take you out of the running before you really dig yourselves to deep." A voice announced the arrival of an enemy team.

The three members of the enemy team landed in front of Team Seven, each with varying levels of amusement and confidence displaying on their faces.

"Age is never a factor when you're a shinobi." Sakura said with the utmost confidence.

"We have experience over you children." One of the enemies bragged. Naruto growled and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Enough talk. Let's fight, if you're so confident." Naruto snapped impatiently.

"Okay, but you asked for it." Another one of the enemies retorted as he and his team charged forward, performing some hand signs as they ran.

Sakura made a single, subtle hand sign and whispered under her breath, "Tree Binding Death."

The three enemy shinobi stopped in their tracks as Team Seven vanished before their eyes. The quick growing trees with over-extending branches ensnared the enemy squad.

"Damn! I can't move." One enemy struggled against his bindings. His team did the same, before realizing the futility.

"This must be some sort of genjutsu." The kunoichi of the enemy squad muttered.

It was too late for any of them to attempt to break the genjutsu, because Naruto and Sasuke easily knocked out the immobilized foes. Naruto searched the enemies' bags before he found what he was looking for: the Earth scroll.

Naruto put the Earth scroll in his weapon pouch where his team's Heaven scroll was located. He walked back over to his team, his gaze focused on Sakura. Naruto had to admit that her genjutsu was on point.

"Well that was easy. We must have broken a record or something." Sakura said cheerfully. The team chuckled a bit, because they knew they probably did break the record for fastest scroll retrieved, and they were well within reach of the fastest completion. Sasuke smirked at the thought. That had to warrant a promotion, right?

"Come on. Let's head over to the tower, but keep on your guard. We're not out of the woods, yet. Literally." Naruto reminded his team. They nodded their affirmation, and took to the trees again.

* * *

Anko was munching on dango and humming a tune to herself happily. She was the picture of carefree, and there probably wasn't anything that could ruin her good mood.

"Better check on how the kiddies are doing. The quicker ones will be finishing soon." Anko said while kicking her legs and finishing her snack. In the distance, Anko sighted two suspicious, cloak-wearing figures walking toward her location. Anko hollered out to the two figures, but they didn't acknowledge her. Anko hopped from her perch to address the two objects of suspicion.

"State your business or die." Anko ordered. The two cloak-wearing men stopped walking. One of the cloak-wearing men tipped his hat slightly to reveal his eyes. His eyes appeared to be the Sharingan, except it was different than usual.

"Tsukuyomi." The man whispered. Anko's eyes widened as she was plunged into a torturous world where days in the genjutsu was merely seconds in the real world. Anko lost consciousness quickly, and the two cloak-wearing figures departed, heading into the Forest of Death.

* * *

Naruto stopped in his tracks to look off to the side. His teammates stopped and looked at Naruto strangely.

"What'd you stop for? We're almost at the tower." Sakura pointed out.

"We're being followed. Whoever's behind us has been chasing us for quite a while, and they're moving fast. They'll catch up to us before we reach the tower." Naruto stated. Sasuke grunted in annoyance.

"So what do you suggest?" Sakura asked Naruto, whom grinned at the question, "I don't like that look on your face. What are you thinking, Naruto?"

"You guys keep heading to the tower. I'll go and meet these guys head on, and when I'm finished with them, I'll catch up to you guys." Naruto said, his grin turning into a smirk.

Sakura and Sasuke didn't exactly like the plan, but they agreed anyway, silently agreeing to each other to find and help Naruto if he needed them.

Sasuke and Sakura watched as Naruto turned around and jumped through the trees. They looked at each other and nodded, and headed onward to the tower.

* * *

If Naruto's senses were correct, then there were only two people heading toward him. That was strange since every team consisted of three people. Naruto shook his head and continued jumping through the trees. He stopped when he figured he was close enough, and he concealed himself in the trees.

Naruto observed as his pursuers stopped and landed on the grass. He couldn't make out their features very well due to the hats they were currently wearing.

"We know you're there. Come out Kyuubi." One of the men drawled. Naruto noticed the large, bandaged weapon on his back.

Naruto's eyes widened in panic. _'How the hell could they know that?'_ Naruto growled as he began flowing through hand signs.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto bellowed as the wind picked up heavily. The two men didn't flinch, but their hats were blown off, allowing Naruto to get a decent look at the guys for the first time.

Both of their appearances held surprises. One resembled a shark, and the other's eyes were concerning.

_'That one's an Uchiha? But I thought-'_ Naruto's thoughts ceased as he remembered Sasuke mentioning something about a vendetta against his brother, whom killed his family and clan members. _'So this must be him. What the hell have I gotten myself into?'_

"Well your appearance is certainly interesting. And that sword, you've gotten that from Zabuza, didn't you. The only way you would get that sword from Zabuza would be to kill him." Kisame, the shark-like man, stated in amusement.

"That's right. I killed Zabuza. You gotta a problem with that? And one more thing, how the hell do you know about me being a jinchuuriki?" Naruto growled out.

"That is of no importance now. You are the prize the Akatsuki is after, so you are coming with us." Itachi spoke.

"Ha! Think again!" Naruto exclaimed as he pulled kubikiribōchō from his back. Channeling all the fire and wind chakra into the blade that he could manage, he bellowed as he shot a large tornado of fire at his enemies.

Kisame smirked. Pulling the bandaged sword from his back, Kisame shouted, "Come on, Samehada!" The bandages tore from the sword, revealing a sharp, scaled blade.

"What!" Naruto shouted in exasperation. He watched as the fiery tornado was absorbed by Kisame's blade.

"It is futile to fight. You are weak." Itachi remarked. Naruto growled ferociously. Inside of him, the Kyuubi was trying to use Naruto's unstable emotions as the basis for taking control, but Naruto wouldn't allow it under any circumstance.

The demonic chakra that the Kyuubi was constantly channeling into Naruto in the hopes of corrupting him further, but the chakra had almost no effect on Naruto other than making him slightly more powerful.

"I'll show you who's the weak one, you bastard!" Naruto shouted, letting his rage take over. He charged in, using his rapid burst step to disorient his opponents. When he got in close enough where he was sure that his enemies couldn't dodge his sudden attacks, Naruto held his sword up, and he was about to bring it down to unleash a powerful wind slash, but Itachi intercepted him with a punch to the midsection. Naruto recoiled slightly in pain, before striking back with a kick that Itachi blocked. Naruto took slight pleasure in watching Itachi flinch from blocking the powerful kick with his arm. Naruto's pleasure was short lived as Itachi countered with a quick kick to the face. Naruto was sent to the ground. Naruto braced himself on his arms and spit out some blood.

"Let's end this now. I'll knock him out." Kisame hollered out. He made his way to the injured Naruto.

"Kisame! Look out!" Itachi called out a warning to his partner.

Kisame's eyes widened as he noticed a large shadow over him. He jumped back before a large toad could crush him.

"If you guys want to take Naruto, you'll have to contend with me, the toad sage, Jiraiya!" Jiraiya said posing on top of his toad summon.

Naruto looked up to see the grinning sannin standing atop his summon, "Jiraiya, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked as he stood back up to his feet.

"Well you certainly looked like you could use some help." Jiraiya retorted.

Naruto grunted in frustration. He raised his sword and channeled fire and wind chakra into the blade.

Kisame prepared for battle, before Itachi spoke, "We must retreat for now Kisame. We cannot draw to much attention, and Jiraiya isn't an opponent we can face right now." Kisame looked at Itachi strangely, before relenting and running away with Itachi.

"Oh, not so fast! Ninja Art: Toud Mouth Trap!" Soft, squishy substance formed around the four shinobi, "Welcome to the oesophagus of the great mountain toad of Mt. Myoboku. You are in the process of being digested." Jiraiya taunted.

"Damn! Let's get going." Itachi shouted to Kisame, whom was currently trying to pry his sword from the toad. The Akatsuki members ran off, searching for an exit.

"It's no use. No one has ever escaped." Jiraiya stated with a confident smile. Naruto looked at Jiraiya in awe.

Suddenly, the confident smile fell from Jiraiya's face and he jumped from his summon's head and ran in the same direction the Akatsuki members ran. Naruto followed him, and stopped with him to inspect the black flames that apparently aided in Itachi and Kisame's escape.

Jiraiya unrolled a scroll and pulled out an ink brush. He scribbled some unfamiliar sign and said, "Sealing Jutsu: Fire Seal." The black flames receded into the scroll. Jiraiya sighed, and turned to face Naruto when he felt his stare.

"I know you want answers and explanations, but they will have to wait until I start training you." Jiraiya said with a serious expression. Naruto growled loudly, and turned to face the direction in which the Akatsuki members escaped.

"I know what you're thinking, and let me tell you that those shinobi are some of the strongest you will ever encounter." Jiraiya stated, drawing Naruto's attention, "You may think that you are not good enough, but remember that those shinobi have had many years of experience. Also, they came here with information on your capabilities. You didn't know what kind of fight you were stepping into."

Naruto sighed. Jiraiya's words were encouraging, but the fact that he was beaten so easily bothered him to no end. Before, Naruto thought he was truly strong, but to meet someone who was truly exceptional was an eye-opener. Naruto understood he made progress, but he needed to improve much, much more if he wanted to combat truly powerful shinobi like that of the Akatsuki.

Naruto's eyes reflected his resolve. He nodded to Jiraiya, and took to the trees, heading to the tower to meet his team. They still had the Chunin Exams to complete afterall.

**Review if you wanna be a cool mofo!**


	11. Chunin Exam: Wait of the World

**"Winning is everything, to win is all there is. Only those poor souls buried beneath the battlefield understand this." - SEAL Team Saving**

_Chapter 11: Chunin Exam: The Wait of the World_

"What took you, Naruto? Some no-name genin gave you too much trouble?" Sasuke mocked. Naruto rolled his eyes and walked past his questioning teammates. In his head, Naruto was contemplating whether or not he should tell Sasuke about his confrontation with Itachi. Naruto mentally shook his head. Telling Sasuke would simply cause problems, and Naruto knew for a fact that Sasuke wasn't strong enough to battle Itachi on equal grounds, let alone defeat him.

"It was nothing I couldn't handle." Naruto said casually, lying through his teeth. His teammates accepted the lie, and they continued walking to the tower. Naruto pushed open the doors to the tower and walked in with his team. Naruto first observed that the lights were clearly turned off. Sasuke found the switch and turned the lights on, illuminating the room and bringing to light the large scroll hanging from the wall in front of Team Seven.

Sakura peered at the large scroll, examining it closely. "If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom and knowledge to take your mind higher. If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. When Heaven and Earth are opened together, the perilous path will become righteous forever. This...something is the secret way that guides us from this place today."

"What's all that about, do we open the scrolls now?" Naruto questioned.

Sakura nodded. Naruto and Sakura held the pair of scrolls out in front of them. As they peeled the scroll open, they noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the scrolls. Their eyes widened and they threw the scroll to the ground and jumped back. The scrolls seemed to implode and a person appeared as the smoke cleared.

Naruto identified the person as the female teacher from the Academy. She looked surprised if the expression on her face was anything to go by.

"Huh? It hasn't even been three hours and I'm already being summoned here. You guys have talent." The Academy teacher said, getting over her previous state of shock, "Well, I'm supposed to explain what that scroll on the wall means." The teacher cleared her throat before continuing, "Heaven represents your intellectual side and Earth symbolizes your physical side. When both Heaven and Earth flourish in equal proportion, the shinobi will be at his finest, able to form brilliant tactical strategies and have the necessary strength to carry out such a strategy."

_'That does make perfect sense. A shinobi can't just be a physical tank, or they'll just get outsmarted at every turn. The shinobi who finds the perfect balance would be an unstoppable force.' _Naruto thought to himself. Briefly, Naruto wondered if anyone in shinobi history has truly managed to achieve that perfect balance. Naruto glanced at his teammates whom both shared the same contemplative look. They must have been wondering about the perfect balance, too.

_'No matter what it takes, I will achieve that perfect balance!'_ Naruto thought, clenching his fists at his sides.

The Academy teacher pointed Team Seven in the direction of the waiting room. She explained that since they were so early, they would have to wait about four more days until the exams proceeded.

Team Seven entered the waiting room, and discovered it to be mostly barren. In the furthest corner of the room stood Gaara, completely unscathed, with his siblings standing a considerable distance from him. Naruto heard footsteps approaching the waiting room, and seconds later, Team Eight entered, looking slightly beat up. The members of Team Eight looked surprised to see anyone else there, and they seemed to be fearful of Gaara, as made apparent by the frightened expressions on their faces when they saw him.

Sakura went over to Team Eight to make conversation with them, but Naruto went over to the Suna team.

"Hey." Naruto greeted simply. Kankuro and Temari jumped slightly when they heard Naruto's voice, "I'm not gonna hurt you two, unless you give me a reason to." Naruto assured.

"Ok, but what do you want?" Kankuro asked warily.

"To talk, I guess." Naruto shrugged. That response must have been surprising, because even Gaara turned his head to regard the fox-eared genin.

"About what?" Temari asked. Again, Naruto shrugged and scratched his left ear.

"Anything. We got a few days to burn, and I don't feel like spending them doing nothing." Naruto said. Then he turned to face his Uchiha teammate, whom was still standing with his eyes closed and his hands in his pockets in the same spot he was when they entered the room, "Sasuke, get over here, would ya? Unless you feel like becoming a permanent statue for this room by standing there for four days straight." Naruto invited.

Sasuke's eyes opened when he heard Naruto's open invitation. He turned to see Sakura, green-faced, staring at what looked to be an army of insects crawling out of Shino's skin, Hinata stuttering, and Kiba's obnoxious laughter. Sasuke sighed. He wanted none of that. Also, he was curious as to how that red-haired genin got through without a single speck of dust marring even his clothes.

"And you are?" Kankuro questioned, nodding his head in greeting.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke answered, nodding back.

"I'm Kankuro." Kankuro replied. Then he pointed to Temari and Gaara, "This is my older sister, Temari, and that's my younger brother, Gaara."

Gaara was intently staring at both Naruto and Sasuke. Something inside him told him that Naruto and Sasuke were both very powerful. Their blood would be enough to sate his mother's appetite for the time being.

Gaara's barely controlled bloodlust was almost palpable. Naruto and Sasuke were not dense. They could definitely tell Gaara's bloodlust was directed at them. Kankuro and Temari seemed to notice as well.

Naruto sighed. Four damn days before the exams continued. _'Those other teams must be walking around in circles if they're still out there.'_

"Naruto, let's spar." Sasuke suggested. Naruto turned to face him, "Well we have nothing else to do." Sasuke concluded casually.

Naruto shrugged. "Okay, but where?"

"Why not here?" Sasuke asked.

"Why don't you just say you feel like showing off? No need to sugarcoat it." Naruto said, smirking.

Sasuke's eyebrows twitched in annoyance, "Hn. Let's just spar, alright?"

"You didn't deny it. What a show-off." Naruto chuckled a bit, but he agreed nonetheless.

Naruto and Sasuke walked to the center of the room and faced each other. Sakura, by now, knew the drill, so she ceased her conversation with the members of Team Eight and came over to stand near her teammates.

"Alright. Go!" Sakura announced.

Sasuke flashed through hand signs at an impressive speed. "Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!" Naruto flowed through his own hand signs at an even greater speed, and bellowed, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." Naruto's fireball engulfed the multiple fire projectiles shot from Sasuke, and headed toward the Uchiha.

Naruto created ten shadow clones, and commanded some to move upwards, some to burst step to the right, and some to follow him to the left where he suspected Sasuke to veer towards.

Naruto's assumption was correct, and he managed to catch Sasuke off guard with an onslaught of taijutsu, courtesy of him and his clones.

Sasuke was sent to the ground, where he didn't have much time to prepare for oncoming, burst stepping clones. Sasuke rolled to the right to avoid the attacking clones. The real Naruto burst stepped behind Sasuke and kicked him directly in the face. Sasuke flew back a considerable distance. When Sasuke stood back up and spit out some blood, he activated his Sharingan, at last.

Sasuke had a harder time tracking Naruto's burst step than before, indicating that Naruto had been enhancing the technique. Sasuke used his hand to wipe some blood from his lip, then he smirked.

_'This should be an interesting fight.'_ Sasuke thought before creating half a dozen lightning clones to protect him, while he created a small Chidori in his right hand. Focusing his chakra to his feet, and keeping his eye out for any subtle movement, Sasuke charged in with his Chidori, destroying shadow clone after shadow clone. With only one Naruto remaining, Sasuke ran at him with incredible speed and jabbed Naruto with his Chidori.

Sasuke smirked victoriously as Naruto winced and his head lowered. Suddenly, the clone exploded in flames, and Sasuke withdrew his burnt hand.

_'When did he-'_ Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted.

"Wind Style: Wind Cutter Jutsu." Sasuke's eyes widened, and he turned his head in time to witness Naruto swing his sword in a large arc, causing a barrage of small blades of wind to form. The wind attack destroyed Sasuke's remaining lightning clones. Sasuke put his arms in front of him in a feeble attempt to block the wind. The attack sliced Sasuke and slammed him into a wall.

Team Eight, especially Kiba, whom was remembering his words to Naruto earlier, was in complete shock of the power of Naruto as well as Sasuke. Kankuro and Temari seemed to expect such a performance, and Gaara could hardly contain himself. His eyes were widening, and the sand within his gourd was moving about wildly, begging to be released.

Naruto landed on the floor and rested Kubikiribōchō on his shoulder. "Well I think that's enough for now." Naruto restrapped his sword on his back. Sasuke had numerous shallow cuts all over his body, and he was panting heavily. Naruto turned to walk back to the Suna siblings, when his ears picked up on the sound of rapid, approaching footsteps. He moved his head to avoid a jab, and turned to grab Sasuke's foot as he attempted a kick. Naruto was about to throw Sasuke, when Sasuke firmly placed his hands on the ground, and situated himself so he could kick Naruto's chin. Sasuke did a little spin across the floor to regain his balance.

Naruto hit the floor after he was kicked off the floor by Sasuke. He rolled backwards to avoid a punch, and he burst stepped to the air. Naruto pulled his sword from his back and spun it out in front of himself. Channeling fire chakra to the blade and expelling it, Naruto created a fiery twister that was proportional in width to Kubikiribōchō. Sasuke jumped so he could avoid it. When Naruto landed on the ground, Sasuke performed some hand signs and unleashed the Phoenix Fire Jutsu. Naruto burst stepped several times to avoid the projectiles. Then, he burst stepped behind Sasuke, whom was still airborn, and flew through his hand signs faster than the eye could see. Naruto shouted, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough." The massive gust of wind slammed into Sasuke and threw him to the ground, harshly.

"You're not dead, right?" Naruto questioned, as he landed.

Sasuke grunted. He had difficulty standing up, and he had to forcefully repress his anger. Then again, he _did_ make the offer to spar, so he really couldn't get angry. Sakura declared the fight as finished.

Naruto yawned and stretched. "Well, I'm gonna go get some sleep." He walked off to a random door, opened it and entered.

"Does he even know where he's going?" Temari asked as she stifled a giggle.

"I doubt it." Sakura answered, shaking her head dismissively.

***Day Two of Waiting***

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed, "It's feels like we've just been sitting on our asses for a whole day."

"That's because we have been." Sasuke stated in a bored tone.

"My butt fell asleep like an hour ago." Sakura added.

"As much as I love hearing about Sakura's ass, I thi-"

"Naruto!" Sakura interrupted with a light blush of embarrassment. Temari, who was sitting next to Sakura, started laughing.

***Day Three of Waiting***

"Rock, paper, scissors!" Naruto and Sasuke said in unison. Naruto held up scissors and Sasuke held up rock.

"Cheating bastard. I saw you activate your Sharingan." Naruto said casually.

"You never said I couldn't use my Sharingan." Sasuke pointed out.

"That's true. Naruto." Kankuro agreed and Temari nodded.

"Go to hell, all of you."

***Day Four of Waiting***

"Can I touch your ears, Naruto?" Sakura asked curiously. Temari seemed like she wanted to as well, and Tenten, whom joined everyone in waiting on day three, tried to hide her amusement.

"If any of you touch my ears, I will _end_ you." Naruto growled threateningly and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword for added effect.

The three girls paled in response.

***The Next Day***

Four days had come and gone, and finally, it was time to proceed with the exams. Many people, it seemed, were eliminated during the course of the exam, leaving the Rookie Nine, Gai's team, and the Suna siblings.

"Congratulations to you all for making it this far. Many of you are rookie genin, and you should be very proud of yourselves for your accomplishments." Hiruzen Sarutobi praised. "Before we begin the finals, we will conduct a preliminary round. More candidates than expected have made it through the first two stages."

"Allow me to take over from here, Lord Hokage." A man said as he bowed, showing his respect. "My name is Hayate, and I will be the proctor for the preliminary round." Hayate said, before coughing a bit. "You will be fighting in one-on-one matches to show your individual skills. Any type of fighting skill is allowed, but I may step in to end a match at any time. Understand?" Hayate asked.

The candidates muttered their understanding and awaited further instruction.

"First, we will pick one candidate. That candidate will get a by." Hayate stated. Gaara happened to be the one who got the by. Gaara disappeared in a flow of sand and reappeared in the stands.

"Now, we will randomly pick two candidates to fight first." Hayate said and looked up to a large screen on the wall. The genin looked up at it as well, watching as each of their names appeared at some point. The randomizer stopped on two names: Sakura Haruno and Kankuro.

**So I was just wondering what would happen if a Yamanaka invaded an Aburame's mind. What the hell would happen? Would **_**anything **_**weird happen at all? Maybe the insects would nullify the Mind Transfer. What do you guys think of that?**

**Review if you wanna be a cool mofo!**


	12. Chunin Exam: Just the Beginning

**I got a question about whether or not there will a be pairing. I hadn't really thought about it much, but I'm open for suggestions. Leave a review if think there should be a pairing or if you think there shouldn't be one. If you think there should be a pairing, then put what pairing you think should happen in your review. If I'm going to do a pairing, I'd probably want to do a unique one. Ultimately, it is my decision, but I'll definitely consider it if I get enough requests.**

_**"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."**_** - Roger Bannister**

_Chapter 12: Chunin Exam: Just the Beginning_

"Don't die out there, Sakura." Naruto said casually. He turned to face Kankuro, whom was on the opposite side of the viewing stands smiling about his "good fortune." Naruto shook his head in amusement. _'Face-paint's in for a surprise when he starts fighting Sakura.'_ Naruto thought. Naruto believed that unless Kankuro was a secret genjutsu expert on top of being a puppet master, he'd have a hell of a bad time fighting against Sakura.

"Thanks, Naruto. I'll also be sure to breathe in and out, too." Sakura said sarcastically. She glanced over to Sasuke, and patiently waited for him to wish her luck as well. Seconds later, Sasuke finally noticed Sakura staring at him intently, so he muttered off some form of a good luck. Sakura, seemingly satisfied with the response, walked down to the center of the arena to face her opponent.

Kankuro's confidence was nearly palpable. Going from the smirk that graced his features, he believed the fight would be over before he could even unveil his puppet.

Sakura rolled her eyes at his cockiness.

"If you are ready, you may begin." Hayate announced.

Kankuro, taking a step out of his comfort zone, ran toward Sakura with the intent to end the match as quickly as possible. Sakura took a calming breath, and decided to start with the most interesting genjutsu in her arsenal. Performing the necessary hand signs, Sakura whispered, "Demonic Illusion: Death Mirage Jutsu."

Kankuro suddenly stopped running, and froze in place. Everyone in the stands witnessed as Kankuro began shaking and screaming. Naruto heard what Sakura had said and he could probably guess what Kankuro was seeing in the illusion.

Gaara.

Kankuro fell to his knees as the illusions overrode his mind. To him, it appeared that Gaara had gone on a rampage, killing everyone in the stands and gazing at him as a predator would his prey. That's when the screams came.

Sakura briefly wondered just what he was seeing, but she shook it off quickly. She ran towards Kankuro with chakra charged to her feet to increase her speed and kicking power, and slammed her foot into the kneeling Kankuro. Kankuro's body skid across the floor. The power of the kick awoke Kankuro from his illusory hell. Aside from the surprisingly strong kick, Kankuro was still disoriented from suddenly awaking from the genjutsu. Regaining his bearings, Kankuro's expression grew into one of unbridled anger.

"I think she almost the face paint off him with that one." Choji whispered to his best friend and teammate, Shikamaru, whom muttered in agreement. Ino glanced at her portly teammate before turning back to Sakura.

Kurenai, if anyone, could appreciate the delicacy of implementing powerful genjutsu in one's arsenal.

_'How did Forehead improve this much?'_ Truthfully, Ino used to believe Sasuke put Team Seven on his back. Then word got around that Naruto had defeated a jonin level missing ninja by himself, and Ino didn't know what to think. Now, having witnessed Sakura's growth firsthand, Ino couldn't help but feel a bit inadequate in comparision. Looking around the stands, it seemed a few other teams had similar grim thoughts.

Kankuro quickly unwrapped his puppet and pulled it from his back. The puppet twitched in accordance with Kankuro's fingers. Sakura made that observation, though it was obvious.

"This match ends now, little girl." Kankuro scoffed, "Now, I'm going to have to fight seriously." Kankuro moved his fingers, and the chakra strings connecting him to his puppet shifted as well. In response, the puppet flew at Sakura at a moderately quick speed.

Sakura sidestepped the puppet and went straight for Kankuro. Kankuro made his puppet fire hidden projectiles at Sakura's blindspot. Sakura, sensing the incoming projectiles, jumped to the side to avoid them. She reached into her weapon pouch and threw some kunai at Kankuro, whom used his puppet to block the attack.

Sakura quickly decided that genjutsu was her best option. As Sakura performed her hand signs, Kankuro sent his puppet after her in an attempt to stop another illusion. A smirk spread across his face as Sakura became ensnared by the puppet. Kankuro had his puppet squeeze Sakura hard enough to elicit a shout of agony.

Unfortunately for Kankuro, Sakura had already completed her hand signs.

"Flower Petal Escape." Sakura whispered as her whole body dissolved into many flower petals. Kankuro's face accurately portrayed his confusion and anxiety from not knowing Sakura's next move.

"Damn it! She still got her genjutsu off." Kankuro cursed to himself. Kankuro kept his guard up, scanning every inch of the arena. His search was fruitless as it seemed Sakura was no where in sight.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" A feminine voice coming from below Kankuro shouted. Before Kankuro could react, he was pulled underground with only his head left exposed and Sakura jumped from the ground.

"Gotcha you." Sakura taunted as she pointed a kunai at his exposed head, "Oh yeah, don't even think about trying to move that puppet of yours."

Kankuro's eyes widened as his predicament set in. _'I lost to her? How can Team Seven be that strong?'_ Kankuro thought. He glanced up to look at Naruto and Sasuke. Undoubtedly, they possessed more power than their pink-haired teammate, but her power was no joke.

Hayate was caught between coughing and laughing as he remembered the puppet master's cockiness before the match, "I declare this match over. Sakura Haruno is the winner."

Sakura smiled softly and walked calmly to the stands to rejoin her team. On the inside, Sakura was jumping up and down, laughing maniacally, and screaming several taunting phrases to Ino.

The audience in the stands were busy watching in amusement as Kankuro attempted, unsuccessfully, to wiggle his way out.

"So how did I do guys?" Sakura asked excitedly, barely managing to keep from bouncing around.

Kakashi smiled at her, "Very smooth, Sakura. Great use of your genjutsu to throw off your opponent." Kakashi praised. Sakura beamed at her sensei and ran over to Ino, undoubtedly to brag.

Back on the monitor that decided the fighters for the match, the names cycled until it landed on Sasuke Uchiha and Kiba Inuzuka.

Sasuke spoke no words to his teammates. He simply walked down to the arena casually. Anyone witnessing Sasuke's attitude could plainly see his disinterest.

Kiba was the complete opposite.

Kiba ran down the stairs with Akamaru following, barking excitedly. The smirk on his face displayed his anticipation.

"Let's show'em, Akamaru!" Kiba encouraged his canine companion. Akamaru barked in response and seemed to crouch slightly in preparation.

Sasuke kept his hands in his pockets and regarded Kiba with a piercing onyx gaze. Unrelenting, Sasuke maintained intense eye contact with his opponent, nearly reducing Kiba to an anxious child. Sasuke allowed himself a slight smirk. Half the battle relied on the happenings of the pre-match.

"Now, begin!" Hayate declared.

Kiba wasted no time in readying himself. Crouching down and allowing Akamaru to mount his back, Kiba made a single hand sign and focused his chakra. "Beast Mimicry: All Fours Jutsu." Kiba uttered with a slight growl.

_'Seems like he won't be pulling any punches from the start.'_ Sasuke thought briefly as he activated his Sharingan and witnessed Kiba's chakra flow firsthand.

"Man Beast Clone." Kiba spoke. As soon as the phrase was articulated, Akamaru transformed into a beast-like clone of Kiba. Given that Kiba's appearance was altered by the All Fours technique, Kiba and Akamaru were identical. "Let's go, Akamaru! Fang over Fang!" Kiba bellowed. He and Akamaru spun around rapidly, rushing toward Sasuke like a homing missile.

Sasuke easily followed the movements of Kiba and Akamaru and acted accordingly. To his surprise, Kiba reached into his pouch and threw a few smoke bombs in his direction. The smoke immediately took effect, and Sasuke almost laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. While Kiba and Akamaru would be blindly attacking, Sasuke could clearly see his opponents.

_'This will be almost too easy.'_ Sasuke thought humorously. With his developed Sharingan, Sasuke followed Kiba and his trusted companion's eccentric movements.

"This match is over." Naruto stated with finality. Sakura and Kakashi nodded their heads. Truthfully, they, like Sasuke, had to suppress a laugh when they saw Kiba retrieve smoke bombs from his pouch.

As the smoke cleared, Kiba and Akamaru were seen on the ground, unable to stand, and Sasuke looked to be unharmed.

Hayate checked on the Inuzuka and his partner, finding them to be unable to continue. "I declare this match over. Sasuke Uchiha is the winner."

Kiba's team was visibly concerned and upset with his crushing defeat. As it seemed, less people were ecstatic about fighting a member of Team Seven. Some of the genin were relieved that there was only one more member of Team Seven that they could fight in these preliminaries, but it happened to be Naruto, the one who was considered to be the strongest genin on Team Seven. The rest of the candidates started to, comically, sweat bullets at the thought of fighting the fox-eared genin in a one-on-one match.

Next up to fight was Temari and Tenten. Rock Lee, who was, at first, crestfallen because it wasn't his turn, immediately cheered up and wished Tenten the best of luck in her match. Gai joined in on the cheering, and Tenten sighed, mentally laughing, at the behavior of her teammate and sensei.

Temari spared no words to anyone and hopped down to the arena. Tenten instantly became serious as she joined Temari in the arena.

"Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? That's right, Tenten!" Rock Lee and Gai chanted simultaneously. Even across the arena, Naruto had to pin his ears to his scalp in a feeble attempt to block out the offending noise. Kakashi's eyebrows kept twitching as he took in the sight of what seemed to be two Gais.

"If you are ready, you may begin." Hayate announced.

Tenten took the initiative and hopped into the air to throw kunai at her opponent. With Tenten's deadly accuracy, the kunai should have, by all means, hit the mark, but for some reason every kunai missed the smirking Temari.

Tenten's eyes widened in complete shock. In the last six months, she could count on one hand the number of times she missed a moving target, let alone a stationary one. Her teammates had similar expressions on their face, because Tenten never missed.

In actuality, Temari, being a wind style user, had simply used the fan on her back to shift the projectiles' trajectory slightly so they would miss. She managed to do this quickly enough and Tenten was never the wiser. As soon as the fight began, Temari knew this fight wasn't one she could lose. Tenten just happened to get the worst possible matchup

Keeping her eyes on Temari, Tenten waited for the slightest movement, the most minute hint of trickery. When she saw Temari place her hand on the fan strapped to her back, Tenten received her answer as to why her projectiles missed. Deciding on a larger scale attack, Tenten jumped into the air and retrieved a scroll that was inside her pouch. She maneuvered herself well enough and unrolled the scroll so the scroll would rotate around her body while she spun in midair. Tenten increased the speed of her spinning, and unsealed the many weapons hidden in her scroll. The weapons flew toward Temari, whom, once again, used her fan in a very subtle motion to throw every projectile off course.

Tenten surprise gave way to frustration as she took in the confident look of Temari, whom seemed to not have moved since the beginning of the match. Temari now held her fan out to her side. It was slightly opened to reveal one purple circle. Tenten's frustration faded and she regained her confidence.

"I really didn't plan on using my trump card in the preliminaries, but it looks like I'm running out of options." Tenten whispered to herself as she pulled two different scrolls from her pouch.

Temari remained confident and she shook her head, "No matter what you try, it's useless."

"We'll see." Tenten responded simply as she balanced the scrolls upright on the ground and crouched while performing some hand signs. She finished by crossing her arms over her chest and uttering, "Rising Twin Dragons."

A massive smoke cloud appeared, and through the smoke, rose two dragons. In actuality, the dragons were merely the two scrolls. Tenten jumped up through the middle of the two scrolls and repeated the process of unsealing and throwing, doubling her weapon output from before.

Temari chuckled, "I told you before, it doesn't matter what you do, it's still useless." Temari opened her fan a little more to reveal the second purple circle. She swund the fan inward, and every weapon was deflected once more.

Tenten landed on the ground with her confident, determined look still present and she jumped back in the air. She held out her hands and the fallen weapons began rising again. Tenten was manipulating them with wire.

Temari opened her fan even wider and revealed the third purple circle. She swung her fan outward, and this time, razor sharp wind accompanied the powerful gust and deflected the weapons as well as injuring Tenten.

Tenten couldn't handle the onslaught and passed out. Before Tenten could hit the ground, Temari caught her, in a rather gruesome manner. Temari threw her to the ground. Rock Lee gasped and jumped down to catch his teammate.

"Why would you do that to someone who has fought their hardest?" Lee inquired, literally shaking in anger.

"_That_ was her hardest? You could have fooled me." Temari mocked with a taunting smirk.

Lee was about to charge Temari, but Gai stopped him. He allowed himself one more glare in Temari's direction before letting the medics take a look at Tenten and returning to his place in the stands.

The next match was Shino Aburame vs. Choji Akimichi.

The two competitors arrived in the center of the arena. Shino kept his serious, casual expression as usual and Choji was all fired up with promises of barbeque pork if he squeezed out a victory.

"You may begin." Hayate declared.

Shino made a single subtle movement before relaxing his stance and watching Choji. Choji prepared his signature technique by expanding his body and tucking his head and limbs into his shirt. When he finished, he shouted, "Human Boulder!" Choji rolled across the arena heading toward Shino, whom seemed to have no intention of moving. Suddenly, Choji's rolling abruptly stopped and his teammates gasped in shock as an unconscious Choji laid on the ground in front of Shino. Even more appalling was the horde of insects crawling out of Choji's shirt.

"You made yourself into a massive food source when you expanded and tucked your head in without taking note of your surroundings." Shino stated, readjusting his sunglasses.

"The winner is Shino Aburame." Hayate declared.

"Oh Choji, you're a mess." Asuma shook his head and sighed.

The next match was definitely one that would be more exciting than the previous. The randomizer landed on Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga.

The arena got a bit silent when the two names appeared, because this was a fight that they all wanted to see.

Naruto smirked and chuckled, "I was hoping I would get a decent opponent. Let's see what Hyuga's got in store." Naruto walked down to the arena to meet his opponent.

"You may begin." Hayate announced.

Neji immediately activated his Byakugan and looked at the now visible chakra points of Naruto. Even when he was merely standing, his chakra seemed to be flaring. _'How much chakra can one genin have?!'_ Neji thought before composing himself and getting into his usual stance.

_'With those eyes of his, he should be able to see my burst step, but let's see if he can actually react to it.'_ Naruto thought to himself. The rapid burst step would most likely throw Neji off whether or not he had to physical capability to counter it.

Naruto created Shadow Clones and decided to throw some of his special explosive fire clones into the mix. He and his clones pulled Kubikiribōchō from their backs and he sent his fire clones in first.

Neji observed the clones that were currently charging after him, burst stepping all the way. Neji couldn't quite tell, but he knew there was a difference between the clones that were on the offensive and ones standing by what he presumed to be the real Naruto. To test his theory, he pulled out a kunai and threw it at one of the charging clones. The targeted clone deflected the kunai with ease.

_'I should have known that it would not be so easy.'_ Neji thought. The clones closed in on Neji, whom reacted quickly by dodging several sword slashes, kicks, and clawed strikes.

Naruto, along with his clones, used the distraction his fire clones created and made a circle around Neji and his attacking fire clones. Neji's hands were tied, dealing with the attacking fire clones.

Naruto and his regular Shadow Clones swung Kubikiribōchō in a wide arc and bellowed, "Wind Style: Wind Cutter Jutsu." The slicing wind came from all directions, making it virtually unavoidable.

Neji's eyes widened at the oncoming attack. The clones were a decoy, and he realized it too late. _'The Wind Cutter Jutsu will not be enough to finish me, and I will not fall prey to the same trick.'_ Neji thought to himself. The wind blades cut into the fire clones as well, exploding with Neji in the center.

As the clones exploded, realization struck Neji with almost the same ferocity as the explosion. _'I see. It was a three-fold strategy, and I fell right into it. What a fool, I am.'_ As the smoke from the explosion cleared, a badly wounded Neji laid in the center. Naruto dispelled his remaining clones.

The remaining candidates in the stand took a breath of relief as the final member of Team Seven completed his match. Rock Lee seemed to be disappointed on top of being frustrated that he hasn't had his match yet.

"Naruto Uzumaki is the winner." Hayate announced.

"You really overdid it, Naruto. That could have killed him." Sakura said to her fox-eared teammate once he returned to the stands. Naruto shrugged.

"I have no reason to hold back." Naruto said simply.

The next match was between Hinata Hyuga and Ino Yamanaka.

Hinata nervously walked down to the arena, but when she reached her destination, she seemed to gain some courage. Ino walked down with some confidence and her resolve steeled. Damned if she let Sakura show her up.

"If you are ready, you may begin." Hayate stated.

Hinata had the same stance as Neji as she activated her Byakugan and readied herself. Ino seemed to hesitate about charging into hand-to-hand combat with a Hyuga, and ultimately, decided on a different approach.

Ino subtlely attached wire to a kunai and threw it at Hinata. Hinata simply side stepped the attack before running toward Ino preparing to strike. Ino used the wire to pull the kunai back, and watched confidently as the kunai headed toward Hinata's back.

Ino wasn't very shocked that Hinata managed to dodge the kunai again. Ino quickly tied more wire to some shuriken this time and threw them one at a time at Hinata, trying her best to ensnare the young Hyuga. Ino then took the kunai from before and threw it at Hinata's feet.

Hinata was doing her best to dodge each projectile, and was, for the most part, successful. She jumped up to avoid the kunai thrown at her feet. By doing that, she entangled herself in the other wires.

Ino allowed herself a small smirk after she saw Hinata was ensnared. She channeled chakra into the wires to immobilize Hinata. Ino silently cheered as she was successful in stopping Hinata's movements.

"Now that I've gotten you where I want you. It's time to make you surrender to Ino Yamanaka." Ino declared confidently. As she prepared herself for a Yamanaka clan jutsu.

_'No! I must not lose here! I still have so much to prove to myself.'_ Hinata thought with determination. She was familiar with Yamanaka techniques, so she was aware that if she could free herself from her bindings, then she could easily dodge Ino's jutsu.

"Okay! Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Ino exclaimed. Both she and Hinata slumped to the floor. The audience waited anxiously for the results.

After a moment, Hinata stood up. The wires that immobilized her were severed. At the final moments before Ino activated her jutsu, Hinata severed the wires and ducked. Ino's jutsu missed and her body was now vulnerable.

"I am sorry, Ino, but I cannot allow myself to falter." Hinata said softly, confirming that she was in fact Hinata instead of an Ino-possessed Hyuga.

"Ino Yamanaka is unable to continue. Hinata Hyuga is the winner." Hayate stated.

"Can the final two candidates please come down to the arena for the final match?" Hayate asked.

Shikamaru and the ecstatic Rock Lee made their way to the arena. Lee looked up to the stands toward his sensei, "Gai-sensei! Please allow me to remove the weights for this special occasion." Lee pleaded.

Gai looked to be in thought before smiling with a sparkle on his teeth, giving his student a thumbs up, and saying, "Yes, my youthful pupil. You have endured the wait patiently, so you have earned the right. Let the power of youth explode!" Gai finished with a fire in his eyes.

"Right!" Lee responded with a similar fire. He jumped up to highest point of the arena and untied the weights from his legs. He let them fall, and the impact caused what seemed to be an explosion, one of youth, Lee would claim.

"O-okay. If you are ready, you may begi-"

"To hell with this. I give up." Shikamaru muttered before walking back to the stands, leaving a crying Rock Lee, and causing the entire audience to gape in unabided shock.

"Well that just happened." Hayate said before coughing lightly into his fist.

**Damn near a month's wait for this chapter after posting eleven chapters in first month of this story's release. I'm slacking, aren't I? Screw making up excuses, I was lazy, alright? **

**Review if you wanna be a cool mofo! (And remember to comment about the pairing thing.)**


	13. Interval

**I'm really glad that you guys enjoyed the preliminary fights. So how bout that Road to Ninja?**

_**"Life was always a matter of waiting for the right moment to act." **_**- Paulo Coelho**

_Chapter 13: Interval_

"Lord Orochimaru, what do you suggest we do?" Kabuto Yakushi inquired. He was honestly curious about his Lord's future choice of actions.

"For now we will have to wait. If we had the allies, we could attack during the Chunin Exams, but it seems we have missed our chance," Orochimaru said with slight displeasure, "All is not lost, Kabuto. Sasuke Uchiha will be mine, and the Akatsuki, whether they are aware, will be our aid." Orochimaru finished with a slight chuckle.

_'Patience is bitter. True as that may be, the fruits of patience are undeniably sweet.' _Orochimaru thought to himself with a chilling smile.

* * *

"Congratulations for your success in the preliminary round," The Third Hokage, Hiruzen, said, "The final round of the Chunin Exams will take place exactly one month from now." Hiruzen finished professionally.

The finalists, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Temari, Gaara, Lee, Shino, and Hinata, stood before the proctors of the exam, the jonin sensei, and the Hokage. Some of them appeared to be confused as to why there was a one month interval between the preliminaries and the finals.

"This is due to the preparations we need to complete such as informing the other Hidden Villages of the results of the preliminaries. Also, this gives you, the candidates, time to prepare as well." Hiruzen informed the candidates with a calm smile, "Now in an orderly fashion, I want each of you to take a slip of paper from the box that Anko is holding."

Each of the candidates looked over to Anko who was indeed holding a small box. "Just stay where you are. I'll come to you." Anko declared. She walked to the candidates and told them to only choose one. As she walked to Naruto, she stopped for a bit.

"So did you do any killing in the Forest of Death?" She asked with an almost excited whisper. Naruto didn't respond as he reached in the box and retrieved his own slip.

Eventually, all the candidates had a slip of paper in their hands. They opened the paper up to reveal that they each had a different number.

The candidates were told to read off their numbers as Ibiki recorded it. This was the method used to decide the brackets for the final round, which happened to be a tournament.

"Ibiki, you may reveal the layout for the finals." Hiruzen commanded and Ibiki did as he was told.

1st Round Matches: Naruto vs. Temari, Sasuke vs. Shino, Sakura vs. Hinata, and Lee vs. Gaara.

Semi-Finals: Winner of match one vs winner of match two, winner of match three vs. winner of match four

Final Round: Winner of first semi-final match vs. winner of second semi-final match

Temari mentally cursed her luck, Sasuke seemed satisfied that he would have the chance to fight Naruto in the semi-finals, Sakura seemed satisfied with her placement, Lee was still crying, Hinata was poking her fingers together nervously, and Naruto, Shino, and Gaara seemed absolutely indifferent.

Shino raised his hand to get the Hokage's attention. "I have a question. Since the finals are being held in a tournament-style, will only one genin receive a promotion?"

"There will be multiple judges, including myself and the leaders of the villages, at the finals that will analyze you in every possible way. They will decide whether any of you are worthy of receiving a promotion. All of you can receive a promotion or none of you can. Both are possible. Does that answer your question, Shino?" Hiruzen responded.

Shino simply nodded in response. In fact, that answered a few questions that were lingering around everyone's mind.

"Good, let us adjourn these exams until next month. Be sure to train hard and rest up." Hiruzen advised.

* * *

"Lord Jiraiya wanted to train you personally?" Kakashi asked. Naruto responded with a simple nod.

"Do you think you can get him to sign my book?" Kakashi questioned giddily. Naruto gave him a strange look and Kakashi retracted his question.

Team Seven continued heading toward the outside of the building where Naruto would hopefully meet Jiraiya, and Sasuke and Sakura would rest up and eventually continue their training under Kakashi.

As they made it outside, there was no sign of Jiraiya, so Naruto bid farewell to his teammates and sensei and set out to look for the sannin.

"Where the hell am I supposed to find the old pervert?" Naruto thought aloud. He gave it some further consideration, and concluded that his best bet would probably be at or around the local hotsprings.

To his surprise, Naruto couldn't find any trace of Jiraiya at the hotsprings. Internally, Naruto was severely hoping that the sannin didn't abandon him, or he would have to add him to his hit list. _'That'd be one hell of an opponent.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

Shrugging, Naruto turned to leave the hotsprings, but when he spun around, Jiraiya happened to be right behind him, grinning.

Naruto's annoyance showed on his face, and Jiraiya took notice of Naruto's growing ire. "Looking for me?" Jiraiya asked cheekily. Naruto's eye twitched in response, but he didn't respond.

"We have a lot to do with very little time to do it, so let's get right down to business. First, I'll tell you about those shinobi who attacked you in the Forest of Death." Jiraiya began and Naruto listened intently.

"They are both shinobi from the group called Akatsuki. The Akatsuki are hunting each of the jinchuuriki for the tailed-beast they contain." Jiraiya explained, "I suspect that after fighting you, the Akatsuki are probably going after other jinchuuriki first before coming after you. That brings us here: I'm going to make a full-fledged shinobi out of you so you'll be able to defeat any Akatsuki member that comes after you."

Naruto was absolutely speechless. Jiraiya's explanation answered many questions he had, but it also created even more questions. For example, why did the Akatsuki want the tailed-beast? Were they just power hungry or were they some radical catalyst group after world conquest? No matter the case, Naruto wasn't going to let the Akatsuki achieve their goals, whatever they might be.

"We have one month before the finals, so where do we begin?" Naruto inquired. Jiraiya grinned at Naruto's eagerness.

"We're going to do a number of things at once. If my understanding is correct, you can make a hell of a lot of Shadow Clones, right?" Jiraiya questioned and Naruto nodded in response. Jiraiya laughed his ass off for a bit, "We're going to have so much fun this month." Jiraiya chuckled some more before jumping away. Naruto felt himself die inside just watching the perverted sannin practically skipping. Sighing, Naruto followed him, staying a decent distance behind just so he could deny ever knowing the pervert if questioned.

* * *

Naruto followed Jiraiya until they reached some clearing near the outskirts of the village. Jiraiya created four Shadow Clones and instructed Naruto to create two hundred. When asked by Jiraiya if he felt any strain from dividing his chakra like that, he shook his head. Jiraiya grinned at that.

"We'll break up into four groups. Fifty of you to one of me." Jiraiya instructed. Naruto and his clones followed along.

"That group will work on the Rasengan. That group will begin extensive chakra control exercises. That group will train in elemental manipulation." Jiraiya stated and the groups paired off and began training, leaving the real Jiraiya and Naruto.

"What will we be doing?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Like me, you have exceptionally large amounts of chakra and stamina, so you'll be able to learn Sage Jutsu at Mt. Myoboku." At Naruto's puzzled expression, Jiraiya sighed and bit into his thumb to draw blood. Flowing through handsigns, Jiraiya slammed his palm on the ground, causing a smoke cloud to appear. After the smoke cleared, a small toad waved at Jiraiya.

"Gama, I need the contract scroll." The toad summon opened his mouth, and on his tongue was the scroll. Jiraiya grabbed the scroll and handed it to Naruto whom opened it immediately.

"Just sign your name in blood with the hand that you will use to summon." Jiraiya instructed with a grin. Naruto bit into his thumb, signed his name, and left his fingerprints beneath his signature. Gama took the scroll back and seemingly swallowed it.

"Now I need you to reverse summon Naruto and I to Mt. Myoboku." Jiraiya commanded Gama whom obediently nodded and followed his orders.

"Pervert, what the hell is-" Before Naruto could complete his sentence, he and Jiraiya disappeared.

-going on?" Naruto finished. Jiraiya grinned knowingly, and at that moment, Naruto registered that he was in a completely different place than he was just seconds ago. To put it simply, everything was so green, like a bright, enchanted forest filled with toads.

"Welcome to Mt. Myoboku, sacred homeland of the toad summons. Here is where you will be learning all about Sage Jutsu." Jiraiya said striking a rather impressive introductory pose.

"Oh! It's been quite a while since we've seen you here, Jiraiya-boy." A feminine voice called out from the distance. Jiraiya and Naruto turned to see a small, elderly female toad hopping toward them.

"Long time no see, Shima. How have you been holding up?" Jiraiya questioned.

"I've been well. Pa is still sleeping, lazy toad he is." Shima said with a slight groan, "I see you brought someone with you this time, Jiraiya-boy. What is your name?" Shima asked Naruto kindly.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto answered simply with a nod. Naruto then turned to regard Jiraiya, "What are we going to do about the clones back home? Won't they dispel after they exhaust their chakra?"

"We'll go back every once in a while to create more clones, but our main focus will be teaching you how to use Sage Jutsu. By the end of the month, you'll be worlds stronger than you were previously." Jiraiya said.

Naruto smirked, very pleased. By now, he had all but forgotten about the finals, and now his mind was centered on defeating the Akatsuki.

* * *

Back in Konoha, things were very unusual in one specific training grounds with Jiraiya and Naruto's clones. One group was going through the individual steps of the Rasengan. They had already made it through the first two steps, but the third step was proving to be very difficult. Nothing outstanding had happened with the group practicing chakra control. They practiced water-walking, and other chakra control exercises. So, what exactly was so unusual other than the method of training?

The answer was the group practicing elemental manipulation.

One of the Jiraiya clones had mentioned that it was possible to _combine_ two different elements to form one incredibly powerful element. According to Jiraiya, combining two different was near impossible, and it was believed that only those with a special bloodline were capable of doing so.

Naruto's clones wouldn't stand for that, though.

One Naruto clone explained that he had an affinity for fire and wind. Jiraiya's clones thought that over for while. He hadn't come across anyone else with two natural affinities, so he believed that it may be possible for Naruto to combine his fire and wind chakra to form a more powerful element. In Naruto's case, the new element would be Scorch Style. There was only one record of a Scorch Style user, so it was assumed that she, a girl named Pakura, had a special bloodline.

Bloodlines be damned. Naruto, or his clones for that matter, was hell-bent on learning Scorch Style, and nothing short of an excruciantingly painful demise would stop him.

***The Next Day***

Sasuke fell to his knees, cradling his arm. Kakashi had him performing the Chidori to exhaustion, and as soon as he caught his breath, Kakashi had him perform the jutsu once more. The training forcefully strengthened his chakra's potency and reserves. Aside from that, his Sharingan was benefitting from the training as well. When performing the Chidori, he had to _see_ everything or suffer from the severe tunnel vision that accompanied running at the speed necessary to effectively use the Chidori.

Sakura was already very proficient in genjutsu, so Kakashi had offered a very Gai-like method of training; that is, the use of heavy leg weights. Currently, Sakura was performing very common exercises with the added weights. The catch was that Sakura wasn't allowed to use chakra, only her physical strength.

Kakashi took the time to indulge himself in his favorite book series. As Sakura and Sasuke trained, Kakashi happily read his book.

_'Doesn't get any better than this.' _Kakashi thought to himself as he read a particularly juicy line.

* * *

"You need to focus harder, Naruto-boy." Fukasaku instructed. Naruto sat with his eyes closed, unmoving. Learning how to take in Sage chakra was much harder than one would think. Finding the chakra was a problem in and of itself. Of course, he had some special oil to help him, find the chakra, but once he found it, he had to balance it with his physical and spiritual energy. If he took in too much Sage chakra, he would turn into a toad and eventually, a giant toad stone statue. The statues in front of him were a testament to that. He was fortunate, though, for a few reasons. First, he had Fukasaku to literally knock the Sage chakra out of him if he began to change into a toad. Second, he had the use of Shadow Clones.

Hands down, the most difficult part was concentrating with Jiraiya's voice booming in his ears. Forcefully repressing the offending sound, Naruto focused on the Sage chakra once more. He took in as much as his body would allow and could balance. He could feel as the Sage chakra synced with his own. It was different than the previous attempts. Naruto could feel the power surging through him as the Sage chakra flowed perfectly through him.

Naruto's eyes snapped open. There was a red shading around his eyes, and his eyes, themselves, became a light red with a horizontal line where his pupils usually were. He had a few warts on his nose, but otherwise, he had a perfect Sage mode.

"Hey Jiraiya-boy, Naruto-boy is quickly surpassing you." Fukasaku taunted. Jiraiya's eyebrows rose at the thought.

"It'll be years before he surpasses me. Though, he'll be kicking my ass like nobody's business when that time comes." Jiraiya spoke the last part under his breath.

Fukasaku was very curious to find out what Naruto's strength level would be. Before beginning the Sage training, he asked Naruto to try to lift one of the massive stone statues. Whereas, most people wouldn't even be able to budge the statue, Naruto was able to lift the statue slightly off the ground with just his normal chakra. The power boost received by Sage chakra was proportional to the amount of chakra the user possessed. Since Naruto had even more chakra than Jiraiya, he could probably shatter the stone statue with his finger.

"Who's hungry? I've made dinner!" Shima's voice sounded from the nearby house. Fukasaku hopped eagerly to the house, while Naruto and Jiraiya followed slowly, blue in the face. They knew a plate full of worms and plants awaited them, so why rush?

***Two Weeks Later***

Naruto's clones had learned the Rasengan after the first week. For the second week, they worked perfecting the technique. With a group of fifty clones working on chakra control, Naruto's control undoubtedly improved greatly over the weeks to the point where he could pull of a simple paralysis jutsu and make it effective for ten or more seconds. The elemental manipulation group was still attempting to learn the Scorch Style. Progress was slow in that regard, but it was progress, nonetheless.

In Mt. Myoboku, Naruto, Fukasaku and Jiraiya were currently perched ontop of wooden boards on a narrow and very pointy mountaintop. After he first entered Sage mode, Fukasaku immediately had him begin this phase of training. According to Fukasaku, Naruto was a very quick learner when it came to this. Everyone had lost count of how long Naruto stayed balanced and unmoving in perfect Sage mode.

That was something that annoyed Jiraiya when he first saw it. Naruto had achieved a perfect Sage mode while Jiraiya was still taking on traits of a toad, but Naruto didn't have any such traits.

Naruto had perfected Sage Jutsu, and he was prepared to depart.

"Naruto-boy!" Shima's voice drew Naruto's attention, "Here, take this! I thought you would like this." Shima handed Naruto a long black cloak with orange flames adorning the hem of the cloak. Naruto took off his jacket and put the cloak on. Shima smiled proudly.

"Thank you, Shima. Tell Fukasaku I said thanks as well." Naruto said. Jiraiya simply waved from his place in front of Naruto.

Seconds later, Naruto and Jiraiya disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared on the training grounds where they met with Jiraiya and Naruto's clones.

The clones turned to regard Naruto and Jiraiya. It seemed the clones had run out of chakra. Naruto clutched his head as the memories of his clones attacked him once more. No matter how many times this occurred, Naruto could never truly get used to it, and just like every other time, Naruto fell to the ground, unconscious.

And just like every other time before, Jiraiya laughed his ass off at the spectacle.

**All that training, man! **

**Review if you wanna be a cool mofo!**


	14. Chunin Exam: Beyond Mere Expectations

**My laptop decided it would be fucking hilarious to crash when I put it on standby; therefore, majority Chapter 14 and Chapter 15 were completely lost. I hope my memorization is as good as others believe. First world problems, man.**

_Chapter 14: Chunin Exam: Beyond Mere Expectations_

_"So your ambition is to be the strongest shinobi and be feared. Alright, but what happens after that? Why do you want all of that, and what do you think you will gain from all that? Naruto, what do you believe to be your bigger purpose?_

Just a day before the finals of the Chunin Exam, a simple conversation concerning Naruto's future had spurred Jiraiya to ask those questions. The word important would not be sufficient in describing just how consenquential those subjects would be for Naruto in the near and distant future.

Admittedly, Naruto had some difficulty answering those questions. They required a decent amount of thought. As Naruto lie in the field that served as the training grounds for his clones, he decided to finally give some thought to the questions that Jiraiya proposed instead of just shrugging him off like he had done previously.

If Naruto were honest with himself, there was probably some psychological reason as to why he wanted to be the strongest shinobi and be feared as such, but he knew for a fact that he wanted to be the strongest because he loved fighting. It was his passion.

This was not to say that Naruto was a sociopath of some kind. He just enjoyed the feelings that a good fight would always bring. The thrill of the fight, the feeling of the whole world fading away leaving only him and his opponent, and the inexplicable joy that only a victory in battle could bring all added to Naruto's love of fighting.

What would he gain from achieving his ambition?

Naruto smirked to himself as his answer came to him almost immediately. Absolute, unadulterated satisfaction.

Naruto's smirk faded as he realized he didn't have an answer for Jiraiya's last question. Jiraiya stated his bigger purpose was to find the answer of how to bring peace to the shinobi.

That wasn't Naruto's purpose in life. Naruto definitely couldn't see himself as a peacemaker.

Naruto sighed. He laid back on the branch of the tree he was currently resting on. It was one of the only trees still standing in the field. In fact, majority of the field had been destroyed due to Naruto's training.

Speaking of Naruto's training, Jiraiya had reminded Naruto to test all of his recently learned abilities from his clones now that his training was done for now. Naruto hopped down from the tree, and started with the Rasengan. He held out his right hand, and concentrated on forming the spherical rotating chakra just as his clones had learned. The chakra gathered and rotated violently, yet maintaining its perfect spherical shape. Naruto then ran toward the tree he was resting on and slammed the Rasengan into the bark. He watched with satisfaction as the jutsu tore through the tree.

Then, he created a Shadow Clone and commanded it to use the Fireball Jutsu on him. As the fireball headed toward Naruto, he quickly unrolled one of his spare scrolls that had a specific formula written on it. "Sealing Jutsu: Fire Seal." Naruto spoke. The fire quickly shrunk as it was pulled into the scroll completely until nothing was left of it. Naruto had demanded Jiraiya to teach him some sealing jutsu after learning that the sage was apparently sealing master.

Naruto then turned his attention to the Scorch Style, which was a very anticipated moment for him. He brought his hands out in front of him and held them apart with very little space between them. He gathered the fire and wind chakra in equal proportions to his hands and compressed it into a similar shape as the Rasengan. The chakra combined and changed form completely. It turned into a fireball with a bright white center with a light red flame surrounding it. Naruto felt his hands start to take some severe burns from the Scorch Styled fireball. In conjunction, he started to lose control over the fireball.

The Scorch ball exploded in Naruto's hands causing him to fly back a considerable distance until he slammed into a tree after skidding across the ground. Burns marred Naruto's arms and some covered his face, but like all injuries he received, they began healing almost instantly.

Naruto lied on his back and stared at the sky. He exhaled heavily and decided to catch up on some much needed sleep. The finals were the next day, after all.

* * *

The Chunin Exams were always a interesting time of the year. Nations would gather together in one village, watch their genin perform, and flex their muscles, so to speak. No matter where the shinobi came from, they all felt a sense of nationalism in the finals, and the candidates would give it their all to show the power of their village.

In the center of the arena, the finalists stood, patiently waiting for the start of the anticipated finals. The audience sat in the elevated stands that surrounded the arena. The Kage in attendance were seated at the highest point of the stadium to observe. Of course, ANBU were scattered around the stadium for defense purposes if necessary.

"I trust your journey went well, Kazekage." Hiruzen said with a friendly smile.

The Kazekage nodded in response and turned his attention to Jiraiya whom was standing beside Hiruzen. "Jiraiya of the Sannin, I thought you were a travelling hermit instead of a resident."

"You could say that." Jiraiya spoke, "I'm here to see just how badly my apprentice will defeat the other candidates." Jiraiya finished with a slight laugh. Hiruzen chuckled as well. He was excited to see how much Naruto has improved as he hasn't seen Naruto in quite a while.

"No matter who your apprentice might be, I doubt he will stand a chance against Gaara." The Kazekage stated with certainty.

Jiraiya couldn't help but laugh at the bold statement. His laughter proved to be contagious as Hiruzen soon joined in.

Hiruzen cleared his throat, "Welcome, everyone, to the finals of the Chunin Exams, and thank you all for coming to observe. Congratulations to the candidates that have made it thus far, and continue to impress us. Without further ado, let's begin!"

The roaring cheers of the audience was almost earthshaking.

"Will the first two competitors stay here? Everyone else may go to the stands to wait for you match." Hayate instructed while coughing into his fist. The candidates did as they were told leaving only Naruto and Temari.

Temari was visibly nervous. As she glanced at Naruto, she noticed his completely apathetic expression.

_"No matter what you do, it's useless. You cannot defeat me. Just forfeit and spare yourself the humiliation."_

Temari shook her head furiously. She could have sworn she heard Naruto's voice in her head, but that couldn't have been real.

_'Just my minds playing tricks on me. It's not real.'_ Temari thought, managing to calm herself somewhat.

"Let the first match of the finals begin!" Hayate declared.

Temari ignored Naruto's unsettling, apathetic expression and opened her fan all the way, attempting to end the match as soon as possible. Naruto appeared before her in the blink of an eye with his sword down on the ground. His stance would suggest he just cut something, but Temari didn't feel like she got cut so she ignored it. She swung her fan inward in a wide arc, and to her horror, nothing happened.

Temari quickly realized that Naruto had sliced her fan, preventing her from performing any of her wind jutsus. Temari closed the fan and decided to use the metal part as a weapon. She swung the fan and met nothing but air.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough." Naruto's voice sounded from behind Temari. She felt as if she was hit by a mobile wall. Temari flew forward and slammed into a wall, leaving a sizeable Temari-shaped dent. She slumped forward and fell to the ground, unconscious.

Hayate checked on Temari before coughing lightly into his fist, "Temari is unable to continue. Naruto Uzumaki is the winner."

Naruto walked to the stands to join his teammates. Sasuke already knew that his match was next so he began walking down to the arena.

"Wow, I didn't think your burst step could get any quicker." Sakura said, thoroughly impressed with Naruto's improvements.

Naruto didn't respond. Instead, he stood next to Sakura and watched the upcoming fight intently.

Shino was already in the center of the arena by the time Sasuke walked down. Sasuke analyzed Shino closely. Avoiding the chakra-sucking insects was generally a good game plan.

"You may begin." Hayate announced before backing away slightly.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan instantly and glanced down at the ground where he saw many insects crawling toward him. He followed the line of insects and saw that they were coming out of Shino's pores in great numbers.

Sasuke made a safe assumption about Shino's combat skills: He mostly relied on his insects to fight for him; therefore, his close-range skills would be lacking in comparison.

Sasuke sped toward Shino, jumping over the insects crawling toward him. He landed behind Shino, and before the Aburame could turn around, Sasuke landed a clean punch to his side. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as "Shino" dissolved into a mass of insects. Sharingan or not, one would always have difficulty in distinguishing an Aburame from a mass of his insects due to the fact that an Aburame is essentially a hive.

"Your attack has given my insects a perfect gateway. Surrender now, or they'll drain your chakra until you collapse from exhaustion." Shino spoke from across the arena. Indeed, he had used a simple substitution jutsu with his insects that had been crawling on the arena.

Sasuke allowed himself a small smirk. Lightning began crackling around every part of his body, electrocuting every insect that was unfortunate enough to crawl on him. "Chidori Current." Sasuke said under his breath. Had Shino been a normal expressive individual, he might have been stuttering in shock, but Shino was a very calm, very controlled person.

Sasuke held his hand up and began gathering the Chidori once more. Shino raised his arm and a mass of insects flew from his sleeve and headed toward Sasuke at a rapid pace. Sasuke did not feel threatened. Sasuke dove out of the way of the insects. He rolled to a crouching position and swung his hand in an outward arc, uttering, "Chidori Senbon."

Tiny needle-shaped spears came from Sasuke's hand and headed toward Shino at a rapid pace. Shino did not have the speed to dodge or the time to perform another quick substitution. The lightning spears stabbed into him, each slightly electrocuting him and paralyzing him temporarily. Shino slumped to the ground, unable to move.

Sasuke dispelled his Chidori, and placed his hands into his pockets. He looked toward Hayate expectantly.

Hayate coughed into his fist before looking over at Shino and deduced that he wasn't getting up anytime soon. "The winner is Sasuke Uchiha."

Que the fangirls' screams.

Sasuke smirked to himself. He and Naruto had an unspoken rivalry going on in this tournament, or at least, that's what Sasuke thought. In reality, Naruto was indifferent, making this a pretty one-sided rivalry. But to Sasuke, he thought his match was much more impressive, though he was sure Naruto hadn't been going all out in his match.

Sakura started walking down as she knew her match was next. She didn't really know what to expect from Hinata, but she figured she find out pretty damn soon.

Hinata and Sakura got to the arena simultaneously. Hinata was visibly nervous, but she wasn't backing down. Sakura easily saw Hinata's nervousness, and concluded that she would be an easy genjutsu target, granted that her Byakugan may or may not see through that trickery.

"You may begin." Hayate declared.

Sakura decided she would test Hinata's close range game. Her speed had increased considerably over the past month, so her speed caught Hinata off guard slightly. With the Byakugan, though, Hinata was able to counter Sakura's punches fairly easily. When Hinata went for a counter attack, Sakura dissolved into many flower petals.

Hinata, for a moment, lost sight of Sakura completely. She caught sight of Sakura again directly behind her. When she turned to face the pink haired kunoichi, she heard something slam into the ground and felt the ground around her shake slightly from the impact.

Sakura had removed weights from her legs. Judging from the impact the weights hitting the ground caused, the weights were a little more than a fourth of the weight of Rock Lee's leg weights.

Before Hinata could react, Sakura had sprinted up to her and punched her with a chakra-empowered fist. Hinata flew back a considerable distance with Sakura quickly following her. When Hinata regained her balance, Sakura appeared behind her and went for a roundhouse kick. Hinata ducked under the kick and struck out with her Gentle Fist. Sakura shuffled slightly in an attempt to dodge the attack, but she was still struck. Though Hinata's Gentle Fist made contact, she missed the chakra points that she was aiming for. Even though Hinata missed the chakra point, the Gentle Fist still dealt some decent internal damage.

Sakura recoiled back in pain, grasping her injured shoulder. Hinata didn't let up. She continued her assault, but Sakura's superior speed kept her safe for the time being.

Sakura jumped back to put distance between herself and Hinata. The match was currently in Hinata's favor, and Sakura realized that. Hand-to-hand combat was not in her best interest, so that left her with few options. With her earth manipulation, Sakura softened the ground beneath her to prepare her next attack.

Hinata believed she had the advantage close range, so she sped forward at Sakura. Sakura stepped back and relaxed into her fighting stance, waiting for Hinata to come to her. Hinata could clearly tell that Sakura manipulated the ground beneath her, but the Hyuga did not know the purpose of the tactic. Hinata reached Sakura and as she reared back for a Gentle Fist strike, Sakura sunk into the ground while blurring through several hand signs.

"Paralysis Jutsu." Sakura whispered before she completely sunk into the ground. Byakugan or not, Hinata had very little experience with breaking genjutsu.

Sakura jumped from the ground with a rock-encased arm behind the immobolized Hinata. Hinata struggled to break the genjutsu, but before she could free herself, Sakura struck, "Earth Style: Stone Fist!" Sakura punched Hinata with her rock-covered arm and chakra-enhanced strength. Hinata flew back from the powerful punch until she came to a stop. She was unconscious, as to be expected after being hit by Sakura's strongest physical technique.

"The winner is Sakura Haruno." Hayate concluded. Sakura smiled brightly and walked back up to the stands to join her team.

Naruto had to acknowledge his teammates' progress. Collectively, they were probably the strongest candidates. Of course, he couldn't forget about Gaara. Naruto still hadn't seen what Gaara could do. Also, there was Rock Lee, strangely enough. Naruto's philosophy was to never underestimate an opponent no matter how freaky they may be.

* * *

By the time Gaara and Lee had finished their match, the mood of the arena changed drastically. Whereas people were getting hyped up during and after Sakura and Hinata's match, people were deathly silent after seeing Gaara's brutality.

Naruto was not exactly surprised by Gaara's savagery. Truth be told, he was more surprised by Lee's performance. The bushy eyebrowed individual was a ringer. Naruto looked over at Sakura whom was slightly afraid. She would have to fight Gaara in the next round, and she'd be damned before she let Gaara seriously damage her like he did to Lee.

"I feel for the little weirdo. He gave it his all, and he was pretty impressive." Jiraiya said in praise of Lee, "Gai is still a nut for teaching the kid about the eight gates." Jiraiya finished, shaking his head.

"His shinobi career may very well be over. The damage might be too severe." Hiruzen replied solemnly.

"Maybe. What do you think of Team Seven?" Jiraiya asked, "My apprentice specifically." Jiraiya questioned with a grin.

Hiruzen chuckled lightly, "They are a very talented group. I'm sure they've thoroughly impressed the judges."

The Kazekage listened to the conversation in silence. He was still thinking about Gaara's bloodlust. He was just hoping that Gaara doesn't completely lose control. That'd be some serious shit.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke faced each other in the center of the arena. This was a fight Sasuke had been waiting for an entire month. Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan. Naruto noticed a difference in Sasuke's Sharingan: The Uchiha had three tomoes in each eye. His Sharingan had evolved sometime during the month.

"You may begin." Hayate announced.

Naruto burst stepped out of the way of Sasuke's Chidori Senbon which he fired at the start of the match. Naruto performed the rapid burst step to try and confuse Sasuke, but by the way that Sasuke's eyes kept following him, Naruto knew it was pointless. Favoring the direct approach, Naruto created a dozen Shadow Clones.

Sasuke knew better than to let Naruto complete his plans. Sasuke blurred through hand signs, breathed in deeply, and spout a large fireball from his mouth. Naruto pulled a spare, pre-written scroll from his sash. He pulled it open, flashed through the necessary hand signs, and watched with amusement as Sasuke's expression reflected shock. Naruto's clones took advantage of Sasuke's shock and entered into a series of punches and kicks that Sasuke had difficulty recovering from.

While Sasuke was preoccupied with Naruto's clones, the real Naruto stood back and began gathering nature chakra. When Naruto opened his eyes again, his eyes had the red shading around them and his eyes resembled a toad's. Naruto opened his eyes in time to see Sasuke eliminate all of his Shadow Clones and jump at him with a fierce look in his eyes. Sasuke was briefly surprised to see that Naruto's eyes changed, but he ignored it for now.

Naruto allowed a taunting smirk to grace his features before he dodged Sasuke's attack at the last second and retaliated with a strong kick to the Uchiha's midsection. With Naruto's sage mode enhanced strength, Sasuke was sent flying until he slammed into the wall.

When Sasuke stood back up, shakily, he got a chance to see Naruto's chakra flow. It was much stronger than before. _'What transformation did he go through?'_ Sasuke thought angrily.

"It's called Sage Mode." Naruto said as he began advancing slowly toward Sasuke, "_Everything_ about me is enhanced in this state. I could defeat you without Sage Mode, but I knew you'd throw a fit if I held back."

Sasuke's back was against the wall. He was running out of chakra, and he began to see the futility in continuing the match, but his pride kept him standing. He _couldn't_ give up. Sasuke's Sharingan spun angrily, as he charged up one last Chidori.

Naruto sighed as he realized Sasuke was not backing out. Instead, Sasuke was going for one final rush. Naruto burst stepped forward and kneed Sasuke in the stomach. Spit and blood came from Sasuke's mouth as he fell to ground.

_'I couldn't see him. My eyes weren't strong enough. _I_ wasn't strong enough. Itachi... will I ever be strong enough?'_ Sasuke thought as he hit the ground.

"The winner is Naruto Uzumaki."

Hayate's words kept echoing in Sasuke's head, continuously haunting him.

* * *

Sakura was a nervous mess.

Ultimately, she decided not to forfeit immediately, but if the match got too deadly for her liking, you'd better believe she was hauling ass out of that arena.

Sakura looked into Gaara's dead eyes, knowing that he had no intention of sparing the rod, so to speak.

"You may begin." Hayate declared.

Sakura had to immediately side step a sand barrage. It was a damn good thing Kakashi gave her those leg weights.

Sakura flowed through hand signs, "Paralysis Jutsu." She whispered. She smiled victoriously as Gaara suddenly froze. Sakura sped at Gaara and reared back for a chakra-enhanced punch, but before her punch could make contact, Gaara's sand came to life and blocked it.

Sakura jumped back to gain distance. _'Well that confirms one of my suspicions. His sand can act freely with or without him controlling.'_ Sakura thought to herself.

"Is that about all you can do? Pathetic girl." Gaara mocked darkly.

Sakura resisted stomping her foot in anger. That'd make her look her stupid in this situation. Throwing temper tantrums is certainly not grounds for a promotion.

Instead, Sakura took a deep breath to calm herself. Something told Sakura that Gaara wasn't exactly genjutsu savvy. She smirked confidently. _'I'll give him a crash course in genjutsu 101.'_

Sakura used her signature flower petal escape genjutsu to avoid another sand barrage from Gaara. While he couldn't see her, Sakura went through the necessary hand signs for the Demonic Illusion: Death Mirage.

From her safe spot, Sakura watched with barely concealed confidence as Gaara froze once again. After a few seconds, he began screaming in absolute terror.

That was Sakura's que.

Sakura softened the ground beneath her and burrowed underground. She planned to get within Gaara's defenses. She jumped up from the ground in proximity to Gaara with her arm encased in rock. Channeling chakra to that same arm, Sakura cocked back and punched Gaara before his sand could do anything.

Gaara was snapped out of the genjutsu as he skid across the ground. Pure anger filled him. Before he wasn't going to kill the girl, but now, she invoked his wrath.

Sakura jumped into the air, prepared to land a final attack to the seemingly cracking Gaara, when his eyes suddenly snapped open. He raised his arm and sand slammed into Sakura. The sand gripped her and slammed her into the ground repeatedly. Sakura, at this point, was bleeding profusely and had stopped screaming in pain. She had lost consciousness.

Hayate announced the end of the match, but that didn't stop Gaara.

"Sand Coffi-"

Kakashi dispersed the sand around Sakura with his Lightning Blade before Gaara could kill her. He glanced over to the crouching Gaara, whom was glaring at him fiercely. Gaara's killing intent was palpable.

The entire arena became silent. The civilians stared in fear, and the shinobi schooled their features. They were even more apprehensive since the next match would be a battle between two jinchuuriki.

"We will have a thirty minute break until the final match begins." Hayate announced, cutting through the tension somewhat.

* * *

"So Naruto, what do you plan on doing?" Kakashi asked, "Maybe you should consider forfeiting. Gaara seems _very _intent on fighting you."

"Your concern is wasted here. I'll defeat him with ease." Naruto assured confidently. He glanced over at Sasuke whom was sitting a decent distance away from him. Sasuke had been in a foul mood since their match.

Naruto sighed. To him, these exams had just been dragging on and on. He really just wished it was over, so he could go back to training or taking some missions, but he _did_ want that promotion so he could take higher level missions.

Kakashi signaled to Naruto that his match was about to start. Naruto made his way to the arena. He had to admit, he _was_ looking forward to this match.

"Let the final match of the Chunin Exams begin!" Hayate announced.

Naruto quickly unsheathed his sword and held it out in front of him. "Wind Style: Wind Cutter Jutsu." Naruto bellowed as he swung his sword in a wide arc, releasing small blades of wind from the sword that cut through the sand that Gaara sent toward Naruto.

Naruto then created ten Fire Style: Shadow Clones. He and the clones ran toward Gaara, burst stepping to avoid waves of sand. Naruto and his fire clones performed the rapid burst step all around Gaara to disorient him, much like how Rock Lee did. The real Naruto, however, jumped up high and flashed through hand signs. He waited until his clones got in close proximity of Gaara and shouted, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough." The powerful wind destroyed all of Naruto fire clones, causing a massive, fiery explosion with Gaara in the center.

Naruto landed and watched as the smoke cleared. Gaara was still very much alive, but he didn't seem to be fully intact. Similar to when Sakura punched him, Gaara seemed to falling apart as if he was made of hardened sand. The sand fell to reveal a wide-eyed Gaara who was unscathed except for his badly burned and torn clothing. His eyes became bloodshot, and they randomly darted around. He grasped his head in his hands and fell to his knees.

"Please, I beg of you, don't be too angry with me, Mother! I apologize for forcing you to taste such awful blood. I will make amends now by giving you the blood of a strong fighter!" Gaara promised to his "Mother". Suddenly, his eyes focused on Naruto and he stopped shaking.

Naruto froze as Gaara made a single hand seal and his sand began gathering around him, forming a dome.

Naruto burst stepped forward and punched the dome right as it completely closed. He had to burst step back quickly to avoid the sudden spiked defense that formed around the dome. Naruto clutched his bleeding hand as he watched the spikes return to the dome. Once again, the dome was a simple sphere.

_'What the hell is he planning to do with that thing?'_ Naruto thought to himself with a growl of annoyance.

"Are you gonna hide in there all day? That's fine by me. I could use the time to prepare what I have in store for you." Naruto said in a low, dark voice.

Naruto sat on the ground, and gathered nature chakra. He entered Sage Mode and grasped his sword tightly.

As Naruto said before, in Sage Mode, everything was enhanced: his speed, strength, and especially the potence of any chakra-based attack.

Naruto burst stepped high into the sky. He channeled a significant amount of wind chakra to Kubikiribōchō. He slashed downward toward the sand dome, and watched how effective that was. Naruto quickly followed the wind slash with a burst step and a direct wind chakra-enhanced slash from his sword.

The dome shattered under the punishment. Naruto final slash completely went through, and he ended up dealing a shallow slash to Gaara.

Apparently, Naruto hadn't been successful in stopping whatever Gaara was doing. Naruto observed the significant changes in Gaara's appearance. Gaara's right arm was a monsterous one made of sand. Half of his face was one belonging to a beast made of sand as well, and he had a tail made of sand.

Gaara had been in that dome transforming into his tailed beast, Naruto realized.

Even outside of the dome, Gaara was still continuing to transform. Naruto couldn't allow that transformation to continue.

Gaara thrust his hand forward and it stretched extremely quickly, catching Naruto by surprise. Naruto was slammed into the wall by Gaara's stretching arm, which Gaara detached. Naruto's sword fell from his hand. The sand around Naruto hardened and tightened, securing him to the wall.

Naruto was very glad that he was in Sage Mode. With his enhanced strength, Naruto was able to manuveur his arm enough to give his arm some space. He channeled wind chakra to his claws and used the space he earned himself to swing his claws and cut the sand apart.

Naruto created a Rasengan in his right hand and burst stepped toward Gaara.

Mouths grew on Gaara's now transformed body. Each mouth on Gaara inhaled deeply, "Wind Style: Sandstorm Devastation!" Every mouth on Gaara exhaled a chakra-coated sand cloud. Naruto muscled through the powerful wind. Once again, Naruto was very thankful for Sage Mode.

Naruto thrusted his arm forward and slammed the spiralling blue sphere into Gaara's chest. He put more chakra into it to make it larger and stronger. The transformation ceased, and Gaara's sand limbs fell off. He was panting heavily, near exhaustion.

Naruto wasn't doing much better. His Sage Mode wore off, and he was feeling the backlash from forcing himself through the sandstorm.

Gaara's sand didn't seem like it would make an interference, so Naruto grabbed his sword from the ground. Gaara charged forward for one more clash, but Naruto wasn't for that. Naruto, after charging a significant amount of fire chakra and wind chakra to his blade, slammed Kubikiribōchō to the ground, releasing a somewhat weak fiery tornado that slammed into Gaara.

Gaara flew backward a considerable distance. He couldn't stand back up. Naruto rested Kubikiribōchō on his shoulders and looked at Hayate expectantly.

Hayate recovered from his state of shock. Honestly, he forgot he was proctoring an exam. "The winner of this tournament is Naruto Uzumaki."

**Damn. This has got to be the longest chapter by a decent margin. I just sat down and knocked this one out like a champ...after one month without an update. Ahhhh.**

_Next Chapter: Kazumi the Bunny_


	15. Kazumi the Bunny

"_**I will admit there's a certain degree of giving a fuck that goes into not giving a fuck. By saying you don't care if the world falls apart, in some small way, you're saying you want it to stay together on your terms."**_

_**(EDITED)**_

_Chapter 15: Kazumi the Bunny_

It had been a little under two weeks since the Chunin Exams had passed. Following the exams, of course, was the decision-making process regarding promotions.

The judges had sent their individual evaluations of each candidate to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Ultimately, he would be the one to decide which candidates would be promoted.

Shuffling through the evaluations, Hiruzen noticed the first name on each evaluation was Naruto Uzumaki. Each evaluation told the same tale: Naruto Uzumaki was unmatched in the exams. Each judge had remarked that Naruto was beyond Chunin level. Some recommended him for higher positions, while others just left that portion vague.

Hiruzen contemplated Naruto's position for a few moments. The aged hokage was very proud of the boy he saw as a grandson. Naruto seemed to be making quite a name for himself, and if the evaluations were anything to go by, he would continue to do so. Naruto's position would require extra thought, so Hiruzen proceeded further.

Next was Sasuke Uchiha. Evaluations stated that he was at mid to high Chunin level, and Hiruzen agreed. It was a very easy decision, and one that Hiruzen was proud to make, to promote Sasuke to Chunin.

Shino Aburame was a very unique one, Hiruzen noted as he flipped through his evaluations. He showed a lot of promise, but there just wasn't enough to really make an accurate assessment of his skills. Ultimately, the decision was to have him remain as a genin.

Sakura Haruno was somewhat of an underdog coming into the exams according to the evaluations, but she definitely shocked the judges with her variety of ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu skills. All the judges decided that Sakura should be promoted to Chunin, and Hiruzen agreed.

Hinata Hyuga was another person who surprised the judges. People generally regarded the Hyuga heiress as a weak, timid girl, but she put up a decent fight. Unfortunately, she didn't display enough to deserve a promotion.

Hiruzen smiled sadly as he finally flipped through the last evaluated Konoha candidate. Rock Lee had impressed the judges with his undying will to accomplish his dream of becoming an excellent shinobi that could not do ninjutsu or genjutsu. His taijutsu was top-notch, but he couldn't defeat Gaara. As a consequence of pushing himself way past his limitations, Lee had been severely injured to the point where saying his shinobi career was in jeopardy would be an understatement.

Hiruzen sighed as he placed all the evaluations to the side. He pulled out his pipe, placed it in his mouth, lit it up, and breathed it in deeply.

"Now, what to do with Naruto." Hiruzen began now that he was more relaxed.

Whether it was clear or not, Hiruzen always made decisions regarding Naruto with the boy's best interest in mind. True as that may be, Hiruzen found himself making mistakes; ones that impacted Naruto in several different negative ways. Hiruzen was determined not to mess up with Naruto's placement.

_'With his abilities, he is capable of undertaking high level missions. All he needs is the experience.' _Hiruzen pondered.

_"Age isn't a factor when you're a shinobi."_ Hiruzen chuckled fondly as a particular statement from Naruto suddenly echoed in his head. The truth in that declaration served as inspiration for Hiruzen's decision.

* * *

Naruto lied on his bed and stared at his ceiling. Jiraiya had sought him out after his big win in the Chunin Exams. The old toad sage's pride shone brightly. With a large grin and an arm around Naruto's shoulder, Jiraiya left Naruto with a rather unsettling declaration.

_"If for some reason I can't find the answer to achieving peace in this hate-filled world of ours, I'll entrust you with doing what I could not."_

Naruto scowled to himself. This wasn't the first time Jiraiya said something to him that completely threw him off and took him out of his comfort zone. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Jiraiya was trying to change him into someone willing to die to achieve worldwide peace; someone with that Will of Fire that the old man was always going on about.

There lies the problem. Naruto didn't _care_ about peace, and he didn't give a damn if the whole world became a battleground of hatred. Even as he's thinking this, Naruto can still picture Jiraiya smiling knowingly at him before patting his shoulder with a chuckle.

Naruto growled at the image in his head, willing it away.

Indifference was Naruto's way of coping. Until a certain sannin invaded his life, indifference seemed so flawless. Now, indifference seemed impossible to maintain.

***The Next Day***

Sasuke and Sakura had been retrieved by Anbu and taken to the Hokage's office where they were informed of their promotions and received their Chunin vests.

Sakura glanced around the office, seemingly searching for a particular person. "Where's Naruto? I was sure he'd get promoted, too." Sakura surmised. She noticed that when she mentioned Naruto, Sasuke seemed to scowl in anger. The pink-haired kunoichi looked worriedly at Sasuke, wondering about his reaction to the mere mention of Naruto.

"Don't mind Naruto. I have something else in mind for him." Hiruzen stated somewhat vaguely.

After they received their vests and Hiruzen congratulated them, Sasuke and Sakura left. Strangely enough, minutes after they left, Kakashi strolled in.

"Did I miss my students?" Kakashi asked with a smile as Hiruzen's head rose to regard the jounin.

"Ah, yes. You just missed them. I've already officially promoted them." Hiruzen stated absently and he breathed in the tobacco from his pipe.

"Oh, well I'll see if I can meet up with them." Kakashi said as he got ready to follow after his students.

"Hold on, Kakashi, there's something I want to discuss with you." Hiruzen spoke. Kakashi turned around to regard the hokage.

"What do you want to discuss?" Kakashi questioned as he approached Hiruzen's desk.

"Naruto's placement." Hiruzen responded simply.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he was about to say something before he was cut off.

"Naruto's been recommended by quite a few of the judges for a higher placement than Chunin. I find myself in agreement with those evaluations." Hiruzen explained with a smile.

"What did you have in mind?" Kakashi inquired, taking a seat parallel to the hokage.

"Anbu." Hiruzen answered, waiting for Kakashi's reaction.

Kakashi's eye widened and he stared at the hokage for a few moments. Shocked would not be accurate in describing Kakashi at the moment.

"With all due respect, Lord Hokage, Naruto hasn't even been a shinobi for year. Do you really believe he is ready for such a drastic change?" Kakashi questioned, trying to remain calm.

"That is why I'll have him go through a testing process." Hiruzen began as he pulled his pipe away from his mouth, "Several high-ranked missions with a partner whom will act as an evaluator. If he is successful in that portion, he will go through Anbu training." Hiruzen finished. He took a pause before adding, "Of course, this is if Naruto agrees to go through testing."

Kakashi chuckled, "You know Naruto. Of course he is going to agree to this. That's just the kind of person he is."

Kakashi and Hiruzen shared a small laugh before falling silent for a few moments. Kakashi looked at Hiruzen curiously as a thought suddenly occured to him.

"Who did you get to be his partner anyway?" Kakashi questioned suddenly. He became somewhat concerned for his fox-eared student when Hiruzen started laughing to himself.

"I found the perfect partner for Naruto. I'm sure he will benefit greatly from working together with her." Hiruzen said, still laughing uncontrollably.

Kakashi began to sweat, as he took in the sight of his leader having a giggle fit. Briefly, he wondered if Naruto would still be sane, or at least as sane as he happened to be, after all is said and done.

* * *

When questioned about the image of the typical Anbu member, one would usually imagine a battle-hardened warrior with scars marring the Anbu's body; cold, absolutely ruthless, and strictly professional, but as one particular Anbu member started to stroll around a little over a year ago, humming a tune to herself with a rather cheerful smile on her face, people began to reevaluate their definition of an average Anbu member.

Kazumi, or the Bunny as her fellow Anbu members referred to her, was certainly not the average, everyday Anbu member. She broke just about every stereotype made about Anbu.

Giggling to herself as she took a bite of her favorite sweet, Kazumi happily walked around the village she called her home. Her mask was left forgotten in her apartment since she wasn't on duty at the moment, but she still wore her usual uniform. Her dark brown hair and black scarf swayed as she walked with a familiar bounce in her step.

Fifteen year old Kazumi wasn't the stereotypical stupid, bubbly girl that people often mistook her for either. She sure as hell wouldn't have been a successful Anbu member had that been the case. Kazumi was referred to as "The Bunny" because she was deceptively strong and agile. Kazumi was also fairly intelligent. Her fast reflexes and taijutsu ability made her quite formidable in a close-quarters environment. She was well-versed in the art of genjutsu as well. Overall, Kazumi was a very capable shinobi, though she may not appear to be one.

Kazumi was happily doing her daily stroll around the village with no particular destination in mind. Suddenly, she stopped, her breath hitched, and her eyes widened comically. To her left was her _favorite _store in the known universe. A radiant smile spread across her face, before she took off in a sprint, leaving a dust cloud behind her. She shouted happily as she ran, turning quite a few heads.

"Candy!"

* * *

Naruto winced as his sensitive ears picked up high-pitched shouts belonging to an overly excited girl. Judging by the shout, Naruto estimated the girl to be around four years old. Scowling, Naruto turned over in his bed again.

He had to be grateful to that girl, though. The ear shattering shout had succeeded in taking his mind off Jiraiya's unsettling questions and statements, if only for a moment.

* * *

Blood dripped from his knuckles as he repeatedly punched the training post in his personal training grounds in a futile attempt to release all of his frustration. Sasuke jumped back from the post, panting in exhaustion. It had been years since everything was forcefully taken away from him. Seemingly in an instant, Sasuke's life had changed so drastically, and the one he once called brother was the catalyst.

Idly wrapping his damaged hands with bandages, Sasuke's mind lingered on Itachi. Years had passed, but Sasuke knew he was no match for Itachi. That fact had been driven home quite harshly every time Naruto had defeated him. Naruto was strong, but even he couldn't defeat Itachi.

_'Damn it! What have I been doing this whole time?'_ Sasuke thought in self-condemnation. Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke roared in anger as he charged a Chidori in his left hand, and jumped forward once more.

***That Night***

Unzipping her Chunin vest and letting it fall to the ground, Sakura jumped on her bed. As soon as she returned home with a brand new vest, Sakura's family hugged her, their faces shining with pride. The family celebrated until just a few moments ago.

As she lied in her bed, Sakura couldn't help but think of the lives of her teammates. Compared to her teammates, Sakura's background was normal. She grew up with a loving family and experienced a normal childhood. The pink-haired Chunin was bullied for a period of time during her childhood for her slightly wide forehead, but that was nothing compared to what Naruto must have undergone.

Sakura shuddered just imagining what might have happened to Naruto in his younger years.

_'Even Sasuke had a really rough past. Kakashi-sensei probably had a lot troubles back when he was younger, too.'_ Sakura thought sadly. She had grown quite attached to each of her teammates, including Naruto, so it hurt her to think that they all have suffered or are still suffering in some way.

_'I really wish I could help them heal.' _Sakura thought as she closed her eyes, hoping for a peaceful rest.

***The Next Day***

A light tapping on the window disrupted Naruto's sleep. With a scowl on his face, Naruto merely shifted his eyes to address the intruder that interrupted his rest. The sleep-disrupting intruder happened to be an Anbu member. Briefly, Naruto weighed the pros and cons of spitting a fireball at the man who dared to cut his sleep short. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how one might look at the situation, the cons _slightly_ outweighed the pros.

_'I guess the old man finally decided to promote me. Took him long enough.'_ Naruto thought as he shook off the last bits of drowsiness he felt. The fox-eared shinobi stood from his bed and walked over to his window to regard the Anbu.

"Lord Hokage wishes to see you." The bird-masked Anbu said immediately upon the opening of the window.

_'Like clockwork.'_ Naruto thought with a sigh as he witnessed the Anbu seemingly and suddenly vanish.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, old man?" Naruto questioned as he suddenly appeared at the window of the Hokage's office.

_'Why do I even have a door, again?'_ The third Hokage thought to himself as yet another one of his village's shinobi chose to hop in through the window instead of simply using the tried and true, ever-reliable door.

Naruto hopped through the window, and his attention was drawn immediately to a girl in the corner of the room, seemingly laughing at her own thoughts and nibbling on a gummy snack with a rather creepy smile, at least in Naruto's opinion, on her face. Naruto mentally scowled as he took in the entirely too cheerful girl.

"Naruto, there are things I wanted to discuss with you." Hiruzen explained, turning his attention from his paperwork to Naruto.

Naruto's eyebrows rose in response, signalling for Hiruzen to continue.

"First, I must say you performed excellently in the Chunin Exams." Hiruzen began, paying close attention to Naruto's rather blank expression, "The evaluators were so impressed that many of them recommended you for a higher position than Chunin." Hiruzen concluded. There was still no change in Naruto's expression.

Hiruzen sighed. "I have given this much thought, and I believe the best solution would be to put you through a testing process for the Anbu program." Hiruzen stated.

"What exactly is the process?" Naruto spoke after a long stretch of silence.

"You will take five high-ranking missions, very similar to the ones that an Anbu member takes regularly, with a designated partner who will also act as an evaluator. If you make it past that point, you will be taken through a special training process unique to Anbu." Hiruzen explained as he tried his best to keep his attention on Naruto instead of the girl in the corner preoccupied with licking her fingers clean after devouring a somewhat sticky treat.

Naruto's gaze became suspicious as he turned his attention to the girl with the apparent sweet-tooth. Now that he looked at it, she was dressed like an Anbu member. The only difference being that she wore a long black scarf around her neck. A porcelain mask hung lazily from the side of her head.

_'I don't really got room to talk when it comes to first impressions.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he, for the second time, took in the girl in the corner of the office. With a sigh, Naruto approached the girl.

"I take it you're going to be my partner for this testing process." Naruto stated surely.

The girl looked up at Naruto until her gaze shifted upward and locked on to the fox ears that sat proudly on his head. The ears twitched under her stare, and the girl's face brightened.

"Aww, can I touch'em?" She said as she reached for Naruto's ears surprisingly swiftly. Naruto stood stock still as a girl he just met started rubbing his ears. The girl was not deterred by the growl that Naruto started to emit. Instead, she kept rubbing with a gleeful smile until Naruto swatted her hands roughly.

"Hands off, bitch." Naruto said with a scowl, "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to fondle strangers?" He finished sarcastically.

"Hi! My name's Kazumi, and I'm gonna be your partner for a while." Kazumi said kindly as she held her hand out for Naruto to shake, completely ignoring his previous statements.

Naruto stared at the extended hand for a moment before shaking his head and walking past her. _'I can't believe I put up with this shit.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he watched Kazumi endlessly speak about her love of all things sweet.

With a sigh and glares to both Hiruzen and Kazumi, Naruto walked out of the office.

"I'm coming after you, old man, if I lose my fucking sanity." Naruto said as he reached the door and slammed it shut behind himself.

Silence stretched on for a few moments. Hiruzen glanced at Kazumi and noticed the grin on her face.

"Is something wrong, Kazumi?" Hiruzen asked cautiously.

"I think he likes me." The Bunny stated proudly with a giggle as she followed after Naruto.

**Well, fellas, looks like we got ourselves an OC. Don't worry, there shall be no Mary Sue BS.**

**post img (.org) / image / co7z4v3up / (Very rough, basic concept of Kazumi, Delete the spaces and remove parentheses)**


	16. The Act of Infiltration: Part I

**"I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning." - J. B. Priestly**

_Chapter 16: The Act of Infiltration: Part I_

"You're pretty damn persistent. I'll give you that much." Naruto grumbled as he glanced at the girl who walked by his side, "Why are you still following me anyway?"

Kazumi smiled. She had caught up to Naruto easily enough and she laughed as he started to growl at her. It had taken over half an hour for Naruto to stop trying to escape Kazumi.

"Just felt like hanging out since we're going to be partners and all." Kazumi said casually, pulling out another snack.

Naruto gave her a strange look. Even during his time with Team Seven, none of his teammates ever offered to 'just hang out'.

_'I guess that's partly my fault.'_ Naruto thought with a shrug.

"Got anything in mind?" Naruto asked, glancing at his companion. He didn't really have anything to do until his testing process began, and it couldn't hurt to find out more about Kazumi.

Before Kazumi was able to answer, she and Naruto sensed that they were being followed. They both turned to regard their follower and were met with a cardboard box that was colored to appear as a mass of rocks. Naruto's eye twitched as he took in the half-assed disguise. He seriously considered cutting the disguise, and whoever happened to be in it, in half.

"Umm, I'd really hate to break it to you, but your disguise really sucks." Kazumi said as she looked at the box intently as if trying to see through it, "I mean it _really _sucks."

"You're pretty sharp. I guess there's no point in hiding anymore!" A voice from inside the box called out excitedly.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he heard the oddly familiar voice. Seconds later, the box seemingly imploded in a cloud of colorful smoke. Naruto rolled his eyes as the smoke cleared and he finally recognized the three kids who were in the middle of a coughing fit due to the overabundance of smoke, which one of them actually commented on.

As the coughing died down, the spiky, black-haired kid in the middle immediately looked to Naruto, whom was looking at him with pure annoyance, and Kazumi, whom seemed ready to burst from holding in too much laughter.

"Hey, you're the Hokage's grandson, aren't you?" Kazumi said, pointing at the child.

"Don't call me that! I'm the number one ninja in the village, Konohamaru!" He exclaimed as he struck a pose.

Naruto's eye twitched again.

"I'm the sassiest kunoichi in the Academy, Moegi!" She declared, striking a pose akin to Konohamaru's.

This time, both of Naruto's eyes twitched.

"I love Algebra. Call me Udon!" He stated as he provided a finishing pose.

"Together, we're the Konohamaru Ninja Squad!" Konohamaru finished.

Naruto turned on his heels and walked away without a word. Kazumi held her stomach as she cried with laughter and struggled to keep up with Naruto at the same time.

"Hey, wait up!" Konohamaru called out, rushing to catch up with Naruto. When he finally caught up and got Naruto and Kazumi to stop, he quickly registered that the annoyance in Naruto's expression had been replaced with an irritated anger that promised punishment.

"Hear me out, boss!" Konohamaru exclaimed, waving his hands about frantically.

"Boss? I-I can't take it!" Kazumi said, tears in her eyes as she struggled to keep her laughter to a minimum.

Naruto sighed in frustration. Between being pestered by three kids he barely even knew, and his new partner's laughter tearing him a new eardrum, Naruto's patience was running thin.

"Don't tell me. You want me to train you, right?" Naruto asked with a blank expression and a monotone voice. Konohamaru and his friends nodded excitedly in response.

Naruto suddenly scowled at the boy. Charging wind chakra to the tip of his middle finger, Naruto flicked his finger at Konohamaru, aiming for the boy's chest. The concentrated wind slammed him back and knocked him off his feet. Konohamaru's friends gasped and ran to their friend's aid.

"Hey, you're so-"

"Let me guess," Naruto interrupted the Konohamaru Ninja Squad, "Based on your reaction to being referred to as the Hokage's grandson, you don't want to live in the old man's shadow, am I right?"

Naruto's surprisingly accurate statement stunned Konohamaru into silence.

"You want to surpass the old man because you want to be acknowledged as Konohamaru." Naruto continued, looking down at the stunned boy on the ground, "If that's what you want, then you need to find your own damn answers. I sure as hell am not one of them, so don't pester me as if I am one. You gotta work your ass off to find your own strength. Don't rely on others to just hand it out to you, got it?"

Konohamaru, after finally getting over his momentary shock, nodded his resolve. He would follow Naruto's words and find his own strength and surpass his grandfather. Moegi and Udon seemed to be inspired by Naruto's harsh advice as well. The three stood up, and with a salute to Naruto, they ran off, prepared to dive into training.

Satisfied that he finally got the kids off his back, Naruto began walking away again. Kazumi, smiling brightly at him, followed right behind him.

* * *

Kakashi, in the hopes of finding his team, followed the unmistakable sounds of fire raging, earth shattering, and a bit of lightning crackling that seemed to be leading to the training grounds that Team Seven often used. He had called for his team to meet there after they were promoted to give them the run down on the current conditions of their team.

Any wondering that the two newly promoted Chunin had about Naruto's not being there was completely forgotten when they began to spar to kill some time. With his Sharingan activated, Sasuke would see through a vast majority of Sakura's bag of tricks. On the off chance that one of her genjutsu broke through the powerful dojutsu, Sakura would make sure Sasuke knew he fucked up. She hit pretty damn hard, especially when she encased her hand in rock. Regardless, those moments were very far and few between, and Sasuke had the advantage.

Kakashi noted that Sasuke was sparring more agressively recently. Ever since his crushing defeat at Naruto's hands in the finals of the Chunin Exams, Sasuke seemed to suffer from a serious inferiority complex. He believed he was weak when in actuality, Sasuke was very advanced. Telling him that proved to be pointless, since he was convinced that he was weak and that his progress was slow.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted his team with a smile. Sasuke and Sakura immediately stopped their spar and walked over to Kakashi.

"Well, as you know, things are changing. With you two being promoted to Chunin, you're going to start leading squads soon and taking on higher ranked missions." Kakashi explained.

"What about Naruto? He had to have gotten promoted too, so where is he?" Sakura asked, looking around the training grounds just in case Naruto _was_ there and was just being lazy or something.

"That's another thing I wanted to talk to you two about." Kakashi began, taking a slight pause for a dramatic effect. He almost laughed at how Sakura seemed to unconsciously lean in with wide eyes. "Naruto has been recommended by quite a few of the judges from the Chunin Exams for a higher position than Chunin. Considering his abilities, Lord Hokage has placed Naruto in an Anbu testing process." Kakashi finished, once again, almost laughing at Sakura's comical reactions. Sasuke, however, had a much less humorous reaction. In fact, he had no visible reaction at all. He had one hell of a poker face, if nothing else.

"A-Anbu?! You can't be serious, sensei! He's only thirteen, and he hasn't even been a ninja for a year!" Sakura sputtered as she waved her hands around frantically in an attempt to convey her confusion among other things.

"What is that thing Naruto is always saying?" Kakashi asked rhetorically while tapping his chin in mock thought, "Oh yes, 'Age isn't a factor when you're a shinobi.'" Kakashi quoted with a smile.

It took a few moments, but Sakura eventually calmed down, "So I guess Team Seven is officially over then, huh?" Sakura questioned with a rather sad tone.

"Not quite. Naruto won't be taking missions or training with us anymore, but we will still operate as a team for some time until you get more experience on the field." Kakashi replied to which Sakura nodded.

"But seriously, _Anbu?!_" Sakura exclaimed, pulling on her hair slightly.

Kakashi chuckled fondly. If nothing else, Sakura delivered on entertainment.

* * *

"Hey Naruto, if your shinobi career doesn't work out, you could always become a motivational speaker!" Kazumi laughed as she continuously teased Naruto. She swayed to the left to avoid a swipe from the fox-eared shinobi. The attempt only made her laugh harder.

"Shut up, already! I only said that crap to get those damn kids to stop bothering me and that's all there is to it." Naruto explained, glaring at his companion, "Don't look for something that isn't there."

Kazumi patted Naruto on the back gently. "If that's the case, you could of just taken off after you wind-flicked the kid down, but instead, you gave him a pep talk. I just think you're not as bad of a guy as you seem to think you are." Kazumi finished with a smile.

Naruto growled at her as they continued to walk around with no destination in mind. Suddenly, Naruto perked up as an idea occurred to him.

"How about you and me spar and I'll show you how bad I really am." Naruto suggested with a smirk.

Kazumi giggled at the confident look on Naruto's face. "Okay, I guess we can hang out after I kick your butt!" Kazumi taunted as she took off, heading toward the closest training ground.

Naruto saw this as an opportunity to see what Kazumi was made of and to see where he stacked up. The two shinobi took to the rooftops with Kazumi leading.

* * *

The two shinobi quickly arrived at the training ground. Naruto took the time to observe his surroundings. Everything about the training ground was straightforward. It was a great, wide open field with very few trees.

Naruto readied himself. He wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating his opponent. Kazumi seemed to share that mentality as she prepared herself as well.

Time went by with very little activity. Both combatants were testing the other's patience. A silent clash of wills ensued as both fighters stood their ground, unwilling to move in the slightest. The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of their breathing, and even that was kept to a bare minimum.

Suddenly, all the tension vanished.

Naruto and Kazumi met each other halfway on the training ground, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake. Barrages of various punches and kicks were thrown as the fighters engaged in a taijutsu battle. Here, Naruto learned a couple valuable lessons about the Bunny.

Number one, deception is fundamental, yet crucial especially when dealing with appearances. Kazumi packed one hell of a punch despite her size.

Number two, taijutsu was _her_ game. It sure as hell wasn't his, it was purely hers. Her speed and technique were an overwhelming combination. The Burst Step didn't mean a damn thing to Kazumi and her ridiculous reflexes.

Naruto jumped back to gain distance. He wiped some blood from his lip and scowled. So far, Kazumi was taking it to him and that needed to change, but if there was anything he could take pleasure in, it was that Kazumi hadn't stepped away from their exchange unscathed. True enough, she had a gashes marring her armor and Naruto had managed to land a few punches.

Crossing his fingers, Naruto created a dozen Shadow Clones. Naruto, himself, remained in the back and began gathering nature chakra. His clones stood in front of him protectively with Kubikiribōchō drawn. Six clones performed the Fireball jutsu while the other six swung Kubikiribōchō in a wide arc, performing the Wind Cutter jutsu. The wind blades cut through the fireballs, gathering fire along the way.

Kazumi reached into her pouch and threw a smoke bomb at her feet. Her figure was hidden in the smoke. The last thing Naruto's clones saw was a mischievous grin on her face.

The flying fiery blades cut through the smoke, leaving trails of fire. Amidst the smoke and fire, various tools flew towards the Shadow Clones. The clones easily blocked each of the kunai and shuriken, but strangely enough, each of the clones were destroyed.

Naruto cursed to himself. Before he could fully enter Sage Mode, he heard all of his clones dispel. Curious as to how they failed when he gained their memories, he quickly glanced from side to side. He saw all of the kunai and shuriken that the clones blocked on the ground. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a dozen senbon littered among the many weapons.

Naruto sighed to himself. His clones didn't register the tiny needles mixed in with the much larger weapons when they were deflecting them

Now that that mystery was solved, he had to locate Kazumi again. Using all his senses, Naruto searched the entire training ground for Kazumi, but it seemed she had completely vanished without a trace. He was absolutely alert. Every one of his senses were hard at work trying to find his opponent.

Shocked wouldn't be very accurate in describing what Naruto was feeling when he felt a kunai press against his throat.

There was Kazumi, standing directly in front of him, with a kunai in hand, pointed in a fatal spot.

She saw the unspoken questions in his eyes as they stared at each other. "Right before I dispelled the last of your clones, I placed a genjutsu on it that affected its sense of smell, hearing, and sight." Kazumi explained as she lowered her kunai.

"How did that affect me, though?" Naruto questioned. Then a look of realization crossed his features. Kazumi smiled and nodded, knowing that he figured it out.

When Shadow Clones dispel, any remaining chakra that the clone had returns back to the creator. Along with that chakra, comes any disruption that might have occurred to that chakra during the clone's life span. Because of that, Naruto was placed under a genjutsu as a result of his clone being placed under one before being destroyed.

"Damn, not bad." Naruto remarked, squashing any anger he felt from losing so handily. He had to admit, that was one hell of a way to exploit an enemy clone. Actually, this turned out to be a lesson of sorts for Naruto.

_'Based on that, I should be able to use clones as a way to gather nature chakra without having to stand stock still like an idiot for ten seconds.'_

Kazumi giggled happily. That was probably the best compliment she'd ever get from Naruto anyway. _'Gotta take what you can get, I guess.'_ She thought to herself.

"I never got to see it." Naruto said suddenly, looking at Kazumi intently.

"Huh? See what?" Kazumi asked in confusion.

"Your ninjutsu. What's your affinity?" Naruto questioned curiously.

Kazumi's happiness faded quickly with the question. She had a far away look in her eyes, and she seemed to become increasingly angry at whatever she had on her mind. Naruto's eyebrows rose at her odd reaction.

"What's the problem?" Naruto asked somewhat reluctantly.

And then, as quickly as it had come, Kazumi snapped to attention and her anger faded quickly as well. Kazumi laughed nervously, further confusing Naruto. "Uh, well, I really only rely on my taijutsu and genjutsu. That's been my style for as long as I can remember. I never got around to fitting ninjutsu into my fighting style." Kazumi explained, sugarcoating in a way.

Kazumi half expected Naruto to laugh at her, but he didn't.

"I got no room to talk. I'm about as shitty as they come where genjutsu is involved." Naruto said with a shrug.

"I could tell." Kazumi said simply.

"Bitch." Naruto muttered in response.

"Sticks and stones, fox-boy."

* * *

The next day, Naruto went to the same training ground that his clones trained on for the Chunin Exams. He still hadn't given up on mastering Scorch Style.

Naruto woke up early that day to train. When the sun rose, Naruto already had been training for several hours, not including the time his Shadow Clones trained.

In addition to attempting to master Scorch Style, Naruto and his clones practiced the method that Kazumi taught him yesterday to break out of genjutsu. Of course, training in that regard was like playing tic-tac-toe by yourself. Without actual genjutsu to practice with at this given time, Naruto's clones were just suddenly stopping their chakra flow and flaring it immediately afterward. It was a glorified chakra control exercise.

Speaking of Kazumi, she and Naruto actually had hung out after their spar. Naruto reluctantly admitted that it wasn't so bad. When he mentioned that, Kazumi seemed to become so much happier.

_'Doesn't take much to please her.'_ Naruto thought, shaking his head.

Once again, Naruto was sent spiralling across the field as another failed Scorch Bomb literally backfired. Combining the elements wasn't much of a hassle. In fact, Naruto had a pretty solid mastery over both fire and wind chakra. To prove his point, he gathered fire around his right hand and spread it down to his arm and channeled wind around his left arm to form a whirlwind.

With a sigh, Naruto dispersed the fire and the wind. He shook his head as he realized he just went out of his way to prove a point to himself. The fox-eared, Anbu-testee watched with frustration as his clones were destroyed one by one by failed Scorch Bombs.

His progress was stunted. Naruto realized that he wasn't make any kind of progress _at all_ with Scorch Style. Watching one final clone explode in a fiery explosion, Naruto dispelled the rest of his clones.

Naruto walked over to the nearest tree and sat at the base. He _would_ figure out why he wasn't getting this.

_'Alright, I've got the elements down, and I can combine them, so what's the problem?'_

The memories of his clones, as well as his own memories, provided some insight. Every time Naruto formed the Scorch Bomb, he would create a light red flame with a bright white center. He noted that the bomb felt incredibly dense every time. Each time before the bomb detonated in his hands, it would start to burn him. The bomb would become even heavier, the ground around him would shake from the sheer density and instability of the Scorch Bomb, and then it blows the fuck up.

The only thing Naruto could gather is that he just might not have enough power to contain the Scorch Bomb or any other Scorch Style technique.

His eyes and facial expression reflected his newly found resolve. Naruto stood up and began running toward the Forest of Death because he was damn sure that he'd get the Scorch Bomb to work this time, and if it had even half as much power as he believes it has, he sure as hell would need the extra space.

* * *

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen, stared out the window of his apartment. He gazed down at his village with pride. It was days like these when Hiruzen felt that he and his village were entirely infinite and completely invincible.

Hiruzen was broken out of his peaceful daze when he felt a presence quickly approaching. Its destination seemed to be the window sill, so Hiruzen played a little game while he waited.

Considering the person's destination, it could be Naruto, coming to demand a mission to begin his testing, Kakashi, just...showing up, or-

"You look like you've been smoking something nice out of that pipe, Sarutobi-sensei." Hiruzen's third guess, Jiraiya, remarked when he noticed the dazed expression on Hiruzen's face, "What's with that look anyway? You look like you're about to commit mass genocide."

Hiruzen sputtered in absolute shock at the absurdity of the statement. He shook his head slowly and regained his bearings.

"Have you found anything of interest while you were out?" Hiruzen finally asked.

Jiraiya's proud grin from getting his former teacher to lose his cool quickly faded as he took on a more professional approach.

"We already know that the Akatsuki work in pairs to capture the jinchuuriki just like how Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki came after Naruto. They will most likely be waiting before sending their forces after Naruto because it seems they need to capture the other jinchuuriki before capturing Naruto." Jiraiya explained, "Though, that doesn't mean they won't be coming after Naruto sooner than that if they get the chance."

"I'm still trying to discover the Akatsuki's base of operations as well as their leader." Jiraiya said, "Though, my list of potential places is quickly narrowing down."

Before Hiruzen could reply, Jiraiya continued with even more information on an entirely different topic. "Now, our wayward, snake-summoning _friend_, Orochimaru, has been rumored to have conquered Ta no Kuni some time ago, and renamed it Oto no Kuni." Jiraiya explained, "In there, he apparently set up a hidden village and named himself the kage of that village. I suspect he's only been gathering ninja for the purpose of achieving his goal of attaining every jutsu." Jiraiya finished with an expression of displeasure on his face.

Hiruzen walked behind his desk and sat down with a sigh. This certainly was a hell of a lot to take in all at once, but this was the job he chose to take. Briefly, he considered an idea. It was somewhat foolish, yet wholly beneficial for who it involved. Besides, something like this would have come up eventually, so why not let it happen now?

"I believe I have found an assignment for Naruto's testing, though I will need to adjust the rules for a mission of this magnitude." Hiruzen said, cradling his head in his intertwined hands. Intercepting Jiraiya's confused look, Hiruzen began explaining everything involving Naruto's chance at becoming an Anbu.

* * *

"Warning: You will die." Naruto read off the familiar sign with a chuckle, "That just might happen if this Scorch jutsu blows up on me." Naruto said to himself as he jumped over the gates and took off to find a decent place to experiment.

Naruto smirked as he slaughtered every single creature that dared to stand in his way. He did so with no effort whatsoever. By the time he arrived at an adequate clearing, his hands, or his claws to be specific, were heavily coated in the blood of the rather large snakes and giant spiders that seemed to jump at him by the dozen.

Naruto closed his eyes as he mentally reached for the nature chakra that he desired. After about ten seconds, his eyes snapped open. If he didn't have enough power on his own to use Scorch Style jutsu, then Sage Mode would be his best bet.

This time, Naruto held out his right hand only, gathering wind and fire chakra, simultaneously, to his palm to form the light red flame with the bright white center. He just held it for a while, and watched with interest as the Scorch Bomb remained without burning his hand. The density was still there, but it was nothing compared to his previous attempts.

Now, Naruto chose to hold out both of his hands, repeating the process, and forming a much larger Scorch Bomb. The density of the chakra increased, though not by much, and ground around him began to shake just like before. Naruto mentally prepared himself for the jutsu to explode in his hands again, but it didn't happen. Even minutes later, he was still holding the bomb in his hands without even the slightest burning to his palms.

A confident smirk appeared on Naruto's face. Slowly, he lifted his hands and the Scorch Bomb above his head. His smirk grew and he almost laughed as he threw the Scorch at the tree he was facing.

Naruto expected the Scorch Bomb to be powerful. He expected it to leave a sizeable crater. Hell, he even expected to be wounded in the explosion, but his expectations were nothing more than crappy ballpark guesses when he witnessed the actual outcome.

The place where Naruto threw the Scorch Bomb was a crater. The place where he stood was a crater. Every spot in between was a crater. All in all, Naruto leveled about two kilometers of the Forest of Death, and was promptly thrown just outside of the forest.

Even after he landed outside the forest on his ass, the smirk never once left Naruto's face.

* * *

"Well, you sure seem happy today." Kazumi commented, taking in Naruto's softer-than-usual facial expression. He wasn't smiling, but his seemingly perpetual scowl wasn't present. "It's kinda creepy to be perfectly honest."

Naruto scoffed at the jab at his pleasant outlook, but he didn't let it bother him. He was still feeling the bliss from completing his first Scorch Style jutsu. The fact that the Scorch Bomb was practically a doomsday machine just added to his feeling of complete satisfaction.

Naruto and Kazumi had been called by Anbu and were told to report to the Hokage immediately. Undoubtedly, the testing process was beginning

"Have you been practicing your motivational speaking?" Kazumi asked, barely containing her laughter, "You gotta practice if you want go large!" Kazumi finished before she laughed.

Dodging a swipe from Naruto, Kazumi took to the buildings, hopping from rooftop to rooftop while laughing. Of course, she was a spectacle, turning quite a few heads. Naruto let the developing scowl fall from his face as he watched the happy, bouncing girl with her bright smile fade from view. With a shrug and a sigh, Naruto burst stepped after her. Briefly, he wondered what a Scorch Bomb would do to a mouthy Bunny.

* * *

The tensity in the Hokage's office was nearly palpable. Naruto and Kazumi stood in front of Hiruzen's desk, and Jiraiya stood off to the side with his arms crossed and a solemn expression. The Hokage, himself, had a very somber expression as he regarded the Anbu and the Anbu-testee.

"I'm sure you both know of Orochimaru, correct?" Hiruzen questioned, to which he received a pair of nods, "Jiraiya has informed me of his current whereabouts and actions, and I fear that if left to his own devices, Orochimaru will eventually attack Konoha." Hiruzen said calmly. He then went on to explain everything that Jiraiya told him regarding Orochimaru to Naruto and Kazumi.

"This seems like a pretty big mission to start me off with if this is going where I think it is, old man." Naruto responded, "Not that I'm complaining."

"Yes, this is a rather important mission to begin your testing with, but that is why I'll bend the rules to compensate." Hiruzen replied, "Jiraiya will be accompanying you and Kazumi on this mission to infiltrate Otogakure."

* * *

The team of three, consisting of Jiraiya, Naruto, and Kazumi, headed out north of Konoha with their sights set on Oto no Kuni. Jiraiya led the group and Naruto and Kazumi trailed slightly behind him. For the first time since he met her, Kazumi was wearing her porcelain mask, but just before she placed it on, her face was completely expressionless except for a hint of anger on her features. Once again, something about Kazumi confused the hell out of Naruto.

_"The objective of this mission is two-fold. You three are to gather as much information as possible regarding Orochimaru's plans and put an end to his ridiculous ambitions if you are able."_

Hiruzen had directed that last part at Jiraiya. That was the purpose of him being here: A potential confrontation with the slithering psycho himself.

No fear or apprehension. Naruto was completely calm, if not a bit excited at his first Anbu-styled mission. Chances were he would encounter some foreign shinobi if stealth wasn't an option, and most likely, all of them would need to get their hands dirty with a little blood. The second part of the mission was to put a stop to Orochimaru if possible after all.

Naruto smirked at the thought.

**"How about you and me spar and I'll show you how bad I really am."**

**Looking back on it, that line is hella sexual. *Cough***

**Well, I was originally going to write the mission itself in this chapter as well, but it's been a while since I've updated and I figured I'm past due. The parts in here should be fine for a stand alone chapter. Part II will hopefully be posted early August if I can get my ramblings together to form a coherent thought. Fuck my mousetrap of a mind.**

**Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to watch Sword Art Online on Toonami.**


	17. The Act of Infiltration: Part II

"**All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near." - Sun Tzu**

_Chapter 17: The Act of Infiltration: Part II_

The journey to Oto no Kuni was a rather silent one. The only words being exchanged were stealth tactics and minor discussions about who Orochimaru is. Based on what Naruto gathered from Jiraiya, Orochimaru was the equivalent of a mad scientist with a crazy God-complex, but regardless of those faults, the man was still a sannin, meaning he was around Jiraiya's skill level. In addition to that, Orochimaru was considered to be one of the most gifted shinobi Konoha has ever produced. The fact that he was able to conquer a country a set up camp there was a testament to that.

During the search for Otogakure, the squad consisting of Kazumi, Naruto, and Jiraiya passed through several towns. Jiraiya earned himself the codename 'S.L.' from Kazumi in the second town; S.L. standing for Scumbag Lecher. When they were attempting to gather information about Otogakure's whereabouts, Jiraiya was hitting on anything with curves, claiming that he was "eliciting information", not that it mattered since there was literally no information on Otogakure.

Days passed with nothing being accomplished. Jiraiya repeatedly stressed that using jutsu was forbidden unless absolutely forced to for stealth purposes. Naruto could easily see the reasoning in that. Running around spewing fireballs or rolling into a town, squad deep, with a dozen, mirror copies of yourself didn't exactly conceal you.

Naruto growled in frustration from his place high up in the branches of a rather large tree in a forest just outside the town his squad had previously visited. The 'no jutsu' policy made sense, but it wasn't yielding any results other than keeping them under the proverbial radar.

Glancing down at his sleeping teammates, Naruto wondered whether Kazumi and Jiraiya were heavy sleepers. With her mask on, Kazumi was impossible to tell, but if Jiraiya's snoring was anything to go by, he wouldn't wake up unless someone pissed in his face. After his night watch shift was over, he completely clonked out. Then again, he was a legendary shinobi, quirks and all.

Sighing to himself, Naruto steeled his resolve. Crossing his fingers, Naruto created two dozen clones. No words were exchanged between them. The clones knew their objective, and so, they quickly and silently vanished into the night. They wouldn't stop until they found some sort of clue or at least any kind of indication that Otogakure even existed.

_'No jutsu my ass. I'm getting shit done around here.' _Naruto thought to himself. He glanced down to his teammates again and was relieved to see that they hadn't awoken from their slumber. Naruto sighed in relief and relaxed against the branches of the tree.

But Naruto felt uneasy. He wanted nothing more than to go out and search along with his clones, but he was already pushing his luck as it was. Naruto shook his head at the thought. _'My clones are good enough for now.'_

* * *

One particular Naruto clone was silently hopping from tree to tree, trying his best to keep his chakra on the low. He was cursing his luck. Hours of searching for a trail and nothing was found. Still, his objective was clear and his resolve was firm.

A little less than an hour later and the clone had picked up something rather strange. About thirty minutes prior, Naruto-clone had caught the scent of a few humans. Originally, the clone just thought it would lead to another peaceful town, so his hopes weren't exactly at a high point.

The clone's nose didn't lead him to a town. It didn't even lead to a village. Naruto-clone's nose lead him just outside the forest to a _fucking_ base. The base was actually reminiscent of Gato's warehouse.

_'Now that takes me back.'_ The clone briefly reminisced about the time he, or more specifically, the original Naruto, infiltrated Gato's hideout, killed him, killed his men, and the blew the place the fuck up. Naruto-clone couldn't help the smirk that took form on his face. Good times.

Once again, the clone's focus was on the base.

* * *

Another Naruto clone had stumbled onto a similar predicament by following his nose. There was another base located on the opposite side of the forest. This clone had the same thought process as the first clone. Strangely enough, that included the reminiscing about the Gato incident.

Naruto-clone, like his fellow clone, focused intently on the base. The base was incredibly suspicious due to the fact that it's a fucking base in the middle of an otherwise barren forest. The clone closed his eyes and gathered nature chakra.

* * *

A third Naruto clone had also discovered a base in the same forest. Same creepy looking base, same thought process, same Gato flashbacks and all.

Just like the other clones, this Naruto-clone placed his focus solely on the base. Similarly, he had a plan in mind. The clone closed his eyes and gathered nature chakra. When he opened his eyes, he was in Sage Mode and he immediately sensed multiple chakra signatures within the base. If he was going to stake the base out, he wasn't going in half-assed. The clone planted his ass firmly onto the tree he was currently standing on and prepared for a stare down with the exterior of the base.

* * *

Meanwhile, the original sat stock still in the tree with his eyes closed. The average observer would automatically assume that he had fallen asleep during his lookout, but the red shading around his eyes told the tale. Naruto was in Sage Mode because he could sense chakra signatures in that state. It was a hell of a lot more reliable than any other means Naruto had at his disposal.

After sending out his clones, Naruto became increasingly restless. It was clear that none of his clones had found anything, or they would have dispelled and he would have gained their knowledge.

Naruto sighed as he slumped back against the branch of the tree. _'Fuck this mission... and fuck Orochimaru.'_

* * *

Jiraiya and Kazumi watched with varying degrees of amusement as Naruto ate his breakfast while cursing Orochimaru in a very vulgar fashion. Taking one last bite of his apple, Naruto crushed the core and burned it in the palm of his hand.

"Get up and let's get a move on. The sooner we find Otogakure, the sooner I can shove Kubikiribōchō up Orochimaru's ass and reduce his fucking village to ashes." Naruto said with no hint of amusement as he stood and began walking off. He was dead serious about the shoving and the burning.

Minutes later, and the squad was on the move again. Naruto, in Sage Mode, was leading the group with his senses. Something was bothering Naruto other than the obvious.

_'My clones haven't dispelled yet. They were only supposed to search during the night, so what the hell are-'_

Naruto's thoughts were cut off by the sudden influx of memories from his clones that had just now dispelled. He stopped on a dime causing his teammates to stop as well and look at him curiously.

"Naruto?" Kazumi questioned as she walked to Naruto's side. The look on his face gave the impression that he just had an epiphany of some sort.

"Come on, brat." Jiraiya spoke as he walked over to Naruto's other side, "This is no time to space ou-" Jiraiya was interrupted when Naruto quickly placed his arm up in a signal for silence. Slowly, Naruto placed the arm back down to his side.

Jiraiya and Kazumi chose to allow Naruto some peace to sort out whatever was on his mind, and about a minute later, Naruto walked forward slowly and turned to face both of them with narrowed eyes.

"S.L." The little nickname Naruto called Jiraiya made him sweatdrop, "What are the chances that Otogakure isn't a village, but a string of bases with a main headquarters?" Naruto questioned.

"...Well that's oddly specific. What makes you think _that?_" Jiraiya asked in dramatic mock suspicion. He already knew that Naruto created a search squad of clones last night. The toad sage didn't honestly care as long as Naruto's clones didn't get caught or something especially if the clones got shit done.

"Oh yes, Naruto, please tell us what gave you _that _idea, hm?" Kazumi joined in with an even more dramatic tone. She, too, knew of Naruto's nightly affairs.

Naruto sighed. "Obviously, you two know I made a couple dozen clones and made them search throughout the night for any sign of Otogakure." Naruto said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "Three of my clones found something of interest: Three bases. And the interesting part is that they each saw a shinobi exiting the bases. Those shinobi had a forehead protector with a sound symbol."

"Kind of a dead giveaway." Kazumi remarked, chuckling softly, "Where's the closest base anyway?"

Naruto thought about it for a minute then pointed off northeast of their location. "The bases are spaced far enough away so you wouldn't stumble upon all of them in one go unless you're using clones or something, but they're close enough so the Oto ninja could probably tell what's happening from their separate hideouts." Naruto explained, "Because of that, I suggest we split up and take the bases out the two smaller bases then meet up at the largest one."

Kazumi nodded, then pulled out a notepad and a pen and began jotting something down quickly. Then, she nodded to herself, satisfied with what she wrote and put away her notepad. When Kazumi looked up, she noticed the questioning looks she was receiving from her teammates.

"I'm still your evaluator, you know." Kazumi said, regarding Naruto.

"...Alright, but did you really have to write whatever you wrote down?" Naruto asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yup! I tend to forget things." Kazumi answered, smiling behind her mask.

Naruto didn't dignify that with a response. Instead, he turned toward Jiraiya. "So what do you think? Split up or take them out one-by-one?" Naruto asked, though he was fairly positive about what option Jiraiya would choose. "I'm pretty sure I know which one Orochimaru would be in if that's your concern."

"Alright, Naruto, you're the man with the plan. We'll do this your way. You and Kazumi take out the smaller bases, then meet up with me at the largest one if it still there by the time you two are finished." Jiraiya said with a grin. He was pretty impressed with how Naruto was dealing with the mission, disregarding the colorful profanities directed at Orochimaru.

Naruto created two Shadow Clones; one was commanded to lead Kazumi to one of the bases and one was commanded to lead Jiraiya to what Naruto assumed to be the main headquarters. As they paired off and departed, Naruto smirked to himself.

_'This mission is starting to get exciting.' _Naruto's smirk grew as he took off, heading toward the closest base in the forest.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Naruto to reach his destination. For that reason, Naruto decided to wait. His plan wouldn't work unless he and Kazumi took out the bases at around the same time, so he would wait until the clone leading Kazumi dispelled.

That gave Naruto time to develop his plan even further.

_'One front exit and one back exit. I need to consider the possibility of underground exits, too.'_ Naruto thought to himself, reviewing the knowledge from his stakeout clone. To counter the possibility of underground exits, Naruto created four clones that headed out in four different directions about a kilometer away where they each hid among the trees and constantly gathered nature chakra.

_'If there aren't any underground escape routes, then I have four Sage Modes in the tank.'_ At this point, Naruto was giving the middle finger to anyone who said he wasn't smart.

Minutes passed by and Naruto had planned out what he was going to do about the base, and at that moment, the clone that led Kazumi dispelled. Naruto gathered nature chakra and entered Sage Mode. The Bunny was in position, and Naruto allowed himself a fanged smirk.

_'Time to work.'_

***Moments Earlier***

"At this rate, you'll be Anbu in no time. You're handling this mission like a champ." Kazumi praised Naruto's clone, lightly punching him on the shoulder. She giggled when the clone flinched.

"Don't do that." Naruto-clone said simply. He was a Shadow Clone, so naturally he was afraid of physical contact. Fucking sue him.

"Whatever you say, Captain Naruto." Kazumi said with a mock salute.

The clone sighed.

The two jumped through the trees while engaging in light conversation and not long after, they had arrived at their destination.

"There it is in all its filthy fucking glory." Naruto-clone informed Kazumi, pointing to the rather plain base, "Be thankful that you don't have my nose. That base smells like ass." The clone muttered. He looked over to Kazumi because he expected her to laugh or tease him about his hyper sensitive nose, but she just stared at the base.

_'Why does that base look familiar? I haven't been here before.'_ Kazumi completely lost herself in her thoughts. All she could focus on was that base, _that eerily familiar base._ Everything else fell apart, leaving her, that base, and her scattered memories.

"Kazumi." Naruto said while nudging the girl and getting her attention, "Now's not the time to space out. You got some work to do."

Kazumi nodded her understanding. For now, any strange familiarity with the base was the furthest thing from her mind. She placed her hand on the hilt of her ninjato.

"Kick some ass and _leave no survivors_." The clone said, eyeing the sword in Kazumi's grasp, before dispelling.

_'If I'm gonna do this, I need to be absolutely ready.'_ Kazumi thought to herself in all seriousness. She pulled out a scroll from her pouch, unrolled it, and channeled her chakra into it to summon the desired object. She put her mask off to the side just for the moment. Kazumi tossed the object in the air and caught it in her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed. Then, she let out a relieved sigh as she placed her mask back on.

_'Emergency gumdrop, where would I be without you?'_

***Present***

Jiraiya and Naruto's clone headed outside the forest to where the largest of the three bases was located. This base was far away compared to the distance between the other two.

"Not a bad plan you came up with, Naruto. By all means, we really don't have a chance of failing." Jiraiya mentioned as the two quickly made their way to their destination.

Naruto-clone glanced over to Jiraiya for a second before focusing on the path again. "Of course we won't fail. Orochimaru doesn't stand a chance in hell against us." The clone affirmed with a smirk.

Jiraiya barked out a laugh as the two continued on. Eventually, they reached the largest base and Jiraiya let out a whistle.

"Leave it to Orochimaru to build a series of bases under the guise of the village." Jiraiya commented as he observed the base.

"Kazumi and I will meet up with you here after we're done with our bases if you don't finish up before then." The clone reminded the toad sage before dispelling in a small cloud of smoke.

Jiraiya shook his head and chuckled when the ground around him shook lightly and he heard a loud explosion.

"That's gotta be Naruto." Jiraiya muttered under his breath, "Guess that's my cue to go loud." Jiraiya finished with a grin, retrieving some paper bombs, smoke bombs, and flash bombs.

***Moments Earlier***

_"Kick some ass and leave no survivors_._"_ Naruto remembered that to be the last thing his clone told Kazumi before dispelling. _'It's good practice to follow your own advice after all.'_ Naruto thought to himself, smirking as he drew kunai and wrapped a paper bomb around it. Situating the kunai in his right hand, Naruto crossed his fingers and created four clones. Each of the clones had a kunai with a paper bomb on it.

"Let's give these guys a 'courtesy call.'" Naruto and his clones aimed their kunai at the four corners of the base, "Let'em fly." Naruto commanded.

Naruto and his clones threw the kunai and each hit their mark. The bombs exploded, but the base still remained intact. Naruto dispelled his clones and hid in the shadows, waiting for the Oto shinobi to make their move.

It didn't take long for about fifteen Oto ninja to pile out of the base, each wearing the same gray outfit with a black face mask that left only the eyes visible. They situated themselves so they were facing every direction of the forest and their backs were against each others. They had all taken the liberty of retrieving kunai from their supplies.

_'Decent formation.'_ Naruto thought to himself. Then, he eyed the small space between the shinobi. _'But not good enough.'_ Naruto drew Kubikiribōchō and held it in his right hand while he created a Rasengan in his left hand.

The Oto shinobi heard him shuffling, though.

"Over there!" Two of them shouted, throwing their kunai at the tree Naruto was in.

The fox-eared shinobi smirked at the attempt. He expelled his chakra to the space between the Oto shinobi he was eyeing and Burst Stepped to that location, flying to his destination in a black blur. The Oto shinobi only heard the ruffling of Naruto's sage cloak.

Quickly, Naruto slammed the Rasengan into one of the shinobi that spotted him earlier. The others quickly turned around and tried to attack, but Naruto rapidly spun around in a circle, channeling a large amount of wind chakra to Kubikiribōchō.

"Wind Style: Wind Cutter Jutsu." Naruto bellowed as many sharp wind blades shot out from his sword and sliced majority of the shinobi surrounding him. The shinobi screamed as they raised their arms in a futile attempt to save themselves from serious harm.

Only a few made it away and struck back at Naruto with rather precise kunai strikes. They at least managed to keep Naruto on his toes until he decided to end their shit. He Burst Stepped out of their range and flowed through hand signs, performing the Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.

The powerful wind knocked the Oto shinobi back and off their feet. Before they could recover, Naruto and two other clones slammed Kubikiribōchō through their chests, ending their lives.

Naruto turned his attention to the base itself. With his sage senses, he could definitely tell there was at least another ten shinobi in the base. Seven of them were standing very close to the entrance.

_'Think they'll get the jump on me? Ridiculous.' _Naruto thought in amusement. It definitely seemed as though those seven were just going to jump him if he tried to enter the base.

Naruto smirked as an idea suddenly flowed through his mind. Crossing his fingers, Naruto created seven fire clones. The clones charged through the entrance. As soon as Naruto heard the sound of the Oto shinobi preparing to eliminate his clones, Naruto began mentally counting down. When he reached one, Naruto heard seven explosions spaced within two seconds of each other. His ears twitched as screams of agony rang through them.

Naruto's sage senses informed that the seven shinobi caught in the blast either died or were hanging on to life by a thread.

_'Orochimaru doesn't even train these mooks, does he?'_ Naruto thought to himself as he literally walked right through the front door. He sliced through the fire blocking his way with a wind slash from his sword.

The first thing Naruto realized was that the base was a giant laboratory. All the tell tale signs were there, and based on the descriptions he got from Jiraiya, Naruto would bet money that Orochimaru was running experiments on humans.

_'That would explain why he doesn't train these guys. There all just lab rats to him. Why the hell does anyone agree to help someone like Orochimaru.'_ Naruto thought in confusion. _'Now, where's those last three mooks?'_ The fox-eared shinobi asked himself as he kept trekking through the lab.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped walking as he heard voices on the complete other side of lab.

_"Come on, Dosu, what the heck are we going to do? That guy is a destroyer of men; a real life boogeyman! He just wiped out over twenty of our guys without even trying!" _Naruto's sensitive ears picked up on the panicked whisper of a girl.

_'Boogeyman? I don't know if that's an insult or a complement.'_ Naruto thought with genuine confusion etched on his face.

_"I say we just jump him! We can definitely take him." _This time, Naruto realized it was now a boy talking.

_'His arrogance is laughable.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

_"Both of you, shut up and calm down." _That was another guy speaking.

Naruto just couldn't resist. He created two Shadow Clones and prepared to fuck with his next targets.

* * *

"Seriously, what the heck are we going to do? Should we just run for it?" The girl, Kin, asked her teammates, "No matter what that idiot, Zaku, says, I don't think we can take that guy."

Zaku laughed mockingly at his female partner, "If you're scared Kin, _you _can run away like the little baby you are."

Before Kin could respond, Dosu cut her off, "We need to escape and send a signal to the others."

"That sounds like a pretty decent plan of action." The real Naruto commented from behind Dosu with amusement evident in his voice.

"Too bad, though. Even if you were to escape, the other bases will have already been destroyed before you even get there." One Naruto clone added on from behind Kin.

"Of course, that's a pretty big if. I guarantee you won't make it passed me." The other Naruto clone concluded from his place behind Zaku.

_'There's a lot of chakra centered around that guy's arm.' _Naruto realized, eyeing Dosu's metal covered arm.

_'What the hell's going on in this kids arms?'_ The clone standing behind Zaku thought to himself.

Zaku had a confident smirk on his face. He quickly spun around, pointing his left arm at the Naruto clone. In the palm of his hand was a little hole. "Slicing Sound Wave!" Zaku bellowed as a supersonic blast of air shot out from the tube in his hand.

The clone vanished in a black blur. The next thing Zaku felt was his chest being torn apart by a blue orb of chakra. From there, Zaku flew back a considerable distance before slamming into a wall, his dead body slumping forward.

Kin was pinned down. The clone behind her held a kunai to her throat, and told her not to move. She tried not to let her fear show. This guy had just killed over twenty of their guys before coming over, messing with them, and killing Zaku in the blink of an eye. And now, her only hope was that Dosu could take him out and save her.

Naruto knew he had to steer clear of Dosu's metal plated arm. The amount of chakra gathered in that one arm that Naruto could see with Sage Mode and his instincts told Naruto of the danger of that arm, but he didn't quite know what to look out for. Naruto jumped back when Dosu struck with a quick swing. Unsurprisingly, Dosu attacked with the arm that held that porous metal gauntlet. The surprise came when air directed by chakra shot toward him like a bullet.

Dosu smirked confidently behind his bandages. The way he saw it, he already won this scuffle. The biggest surprise for Dosu came when he noticed Naruto's eyes following his directed sound wave before the fox-eared shinobi vanished all together. Then, Dosu screeched in pain as he felt his right arm being severed. Naruto stood before him with Kubikiribōchō drawn.

"Yeah, no more of that. Whatever that attack happened to be was your one and only chance." Naruto said, lifting his sword, "Time to die." He finished as he brought his sword down to cleave Dosu in half, but the bandaged shinobi jumped out of the way at the last second and retaliated by throwing several kunai.

"So you still got some fire left in you after all, huh?" Naruto questioned rhetorically with a rather malicious grin as he effortlessly deflected the kunai, "That's right. Fight on till the bitter end. _Never back down!_"

Naruto channeled fire and wind chakra to the palm of his right hand. He combined them and contained it. The combined chakra formed a mini Scorch Bomb in his hand. Small as it was, the power was still very much present, though it certainly wouldn't cause as much large scale damage as it had in the Forest of Death.

With the grin still present on Naruto's face, he vanished in a black blur once more, appearing about two meters away from his target. Before Dosu could completely turn around, Naruto threw the Scorch Bomb and watched with satisfaction as it completely incinerated Dosu who could barely even release an agonizing scream before he was completely killed, leaving only ashes.

"So much for him." Naruto stated. Then, he fixed his now purple eyes on the girl in this equation. "What to do with our resident female Oto-nin?" Naruto asked himself with a smirk. Even his clones were grinning along with him.

"I'm feeling nice today." Naruto declared, disregarding the fact that he was currently covered in the blood of over a dozen Oto-nin, "You answer a few questions for me, and I'll consider letting you go free." Naruto finished with mock sincerity. He suppressed a chuckle at the glimmer of hope that shone in the girl's eyes.

_'Obvious genin.'_ Naruto thought to himself, mentally scoffing. _'Oh, I'll consider it alright, and that's about all I'm going to do in that regard.'_

***Moments Earlier***

Kazumi didn't even need to bait her opponents out. The ruckus Naruto was causing was loud enough to get about a dozen of Oto shinobi to come out and try to make it to the base Naruto was currently sacking.

_"Kick some ass and leave no survivors."_ Kazumi smiled. She was going to do just that. Call it a personal vendetta. After taking another good look at the base, Kazumi had realized just why the base looked so familiar. It was an absolutely strange and surreal feeling. The rush of memories had left her grasping her head in pain.

The physical experiments, the countless shinobi that were reduced to mere husk, the face of the man responsible for all of this, Orochimaru, and finally, the Memory Blocking Seal Orochimaru placed on her before casting her away like trash.

_'Yeah, this is totally personal.'_ Kazumi thought to herself.

Seeing the Oto-nin attempt to run off to the other base, Kazumi dashed to their location. She moved so quickly that her feet were barely even visible. She cut them off, making them stop and regard her. Kazumi drew her ninjato as she faced her opponents.

"Damn! We're being invaded by Anbu?" One of the Oto-nin cursed his luck.

Before any of the shinobi before her could even retrieve some kind of weapon, she was upon them. Faster than they could react, the Oto-nin were swiftly taken down one-by-one. Kazumi was giving reason to her moniker "The Bunny" as she hopped from opponent to opponent, easily inflicting fatal wounds on everyone in front of her with her ninjato. When the Oto-nin tried to retaliate, Kazumi would block their attacks and counter effortlessly.

One of the perks of being one of Orochimaru's test subjects.

True enough, Kazumi's incredible reflexes and speed were the result of numerous experiments performed on her to make her nearly invincible in all aspects of taijutsu.

_'But that just wasn't enough for that bastard of a scientist.'_ Kazumi thought bitterly. Her greatest weakness to this day was the reason Orochimaru simply threw her away like garbage. As soon as he discovered that Kazumi, inexplicably, had no aptitude for ninjutsu, he lost all interest in her. She went from elite to trash in an instant. Then, to cover his tracks, Orochimaru placed a seal on her, meant to completely block out everything pertaining to him from her memory, but the seal hadn't completely worked. Kazumi had forgotten majority of the things regarding Orochimaru, but she always remembered the name, and strangely enough, the reason she was cast away. Because of that, she resolved herself to become a powerful kunoichi who couldn't perform ninjutsu.

Still, one thing was bugging Kazumi now that her memories were actually intact.

_'Why didn't he just kill me that day? What was the point of keeping me alive?' _Kazumi decided not to dwell on it for long as she finished off the last of the first wave of Oto shinobi.

Kazumi didn't have to take a step in the base to know that it was a laboratory. She also knew that the base was laced with traps at almost every corner.

_'Paper bomb there. Trip wire over there. Paper bomb _and_ trip wire over there. How creative.'_ Kazumi thought to herself as she walked through the base and skillfully avoided the traps.

Previous knowledge told her there were likely more people scattered throughout this particular base. Twelve shinobi didn't seem like a plausible number.

_'Then again, Orochimaru is just freaky like that.'_ Kazumi thought to herself.

Strangely enough, there were only two more shinobi inside the base. With a simple but effective genjutsu that made it seem as if there were a lot more than one Anbu member infiltrating, Kazumi beheaded the last two disoriented Oto-nin.

With her objective completed, Kazumi exited the base. She began walking off before she stopped suddenly.

"Oh yeah! How could I forget?" Kazumi flipped through her arsenal and counted her paper bombs. "Fifteen, huh? That should be good."

With impressive speed, Kazumi zipped through the interior of the base, slapping down five paper bombs throughout the base. Adding the paper bombs being used as traps, there were eleven bombs in total set inside the base. Kazumi dashed outside and set five more bombs along the corners of the base and slapped one on top for good measure. Then, she jumped off the roof of the base and threw a shuriken at the bomb on the roof to set it off which in turn, created a chain reaction of explosions that racked the interior and the exterior. The base wasn't completely destroyed, but it was entirely unrecognizable what with the destroyed walls and all.

Kazumi sighed.

_'If I remember correctly, there's a lot more danger in the headquarters where Jiraiya went. I need to catch up quickly.'_ She thought to herself as she picked up speed and dashed through the forest. _'Naruto should be on his way over there right about now.'_

* * *

It may have been a one time thing, but Naruto decided to make it into a tradition. Every time Naruto infiltrated an area, he decided he would blow it the hell up. He did it to Gato's hideout, so why not do it to Orochimaru's?

In case you were wondering, no, Kin didn't survive. Naruto swiftly killed her after he got the answers he wanted. She had actually trusted Naruto to let her go after she answered his questions, and in a way, that made Naruto feel guilty about what he did. He shrugged off the guilt easily enough.

Naruto stood outside the base he just sacked. Miraculously, his black sage cloak didn't have a speck of blood on it. That didn't go for the rest of him, though. There were specks of blood on his cheek. There was blood on his shirt and pants. Kubikiribōchō was almost dripping in blood. Even with all that, Naruto just couldn't find it within himself to care. Sure, he needed a shower right now in the worst possible way, but that was the reality of fighting to the death, and Naruto wouldn't have it any other way.

Naruto dispelled one of his clones that he sent off before he attacked the base, restoring his Sage Mode. Holding his hands out in front of his body, Naruto formed a Scorch Bomb that was roughly the size of the one he let off in the Forest of Death. This time, Naruto made sure to stand a decent distance away. He threw it directly at the base.

In seconds, the entire area was a steaming crater.

* * *

"Come on, boys! I'm sure you can do better than that." Jiraiya taunted as he simultaneously slammed two Rasengans into two Oto-nins' chests. After Naruto let the bombs fly, Jiraiya didn't see any point in stealthily invading since the Oto-nin were already well aware they were being attacked.

Now, this particular base that Jiraiya is attacking is roughly three times the size of the other bases. This meant that there were much more shinobi Jiraiya had to contend with. That wasn't a problem for Jiraiya, especially now that he summoned a toad that was twice his size.

"Better come out of hiding now, Orochimaru, before I slaughter all of your men." Jiraiya used his Needle Jizō jutsu to lengthen and harden his hair before swinging his head in a circle, cutting and knocking the Oto-nin that surrounded him off their feet. Following that, jumped high in the air, flew through hand signs and spat a large flame that encompassed most of the area. Jiraiya landed and observed the results, "Too late. They're dead."

"Eager and foolhardy as always, Jiraiya. Some things just never change." Jiraiya's head snapped toward the base's entrance, the source of the familiar voice.

"Glad you could finally join the party, Orochimaru." Jiraiya said with humor evident in his voice. His eyes then hardened, "I assume you know why I'm here."

Orochimaru walked out from the entrance of his base, but he wasn't alone. Beside him were two silver haired individuals. One was wearing glasses and the other was rather pale with two red circles on his forehead. The two men were Kabuto Yakushi and Kimimaro.

"To rush to a premature demise, perhaps?" Orochimaru guessed, chuckling to himself. Suddenly, he stopped and along with his two allies, he jumped out of the way of a Scorch Bomb.

Naruto decided to pick and choose his target now that he arrived, and he picked the pale one with the red circles on his forehead. Naruto Burst Stepped over to the man to just cleave him in half with Kubikiribōchō, but was definitely surprised when Kimimaro blocked his sword with a bone he sprouted from his arm. The two held the deadlock as they tried to gauge the other.

* * *

Kabuto was about to aid Kimimaro when he felt his vision twist and turn. He heard an annoyingly loud and persistent buzzing noise, and he felt like he was being stabbed repeatedly by little needles. Gritting his teeth, Kabuto formed the ram seal and dispelled the genjutsu he knew he was under. As soon as he broke the genjutsu, he was just barely able to avoid a game ending slash of a sword, though not completely as he was slashed across his chest. Before he could react, Kabuto's opponent planted a side kick firmly into his chest, sending him back and knocking the wind out of him. Then, she followed up with a quick combination of punches before finishing with a full power uppercut to Kabuto's jaw. The force of the strike took him off his feet and knocked him back.

Kabuto landed on the ground with a dull thud. Kazumi walked over to his body, prepared to finish him off, but all the wounds on Kabuto's body began quickly healing. The medic-nin stood and popped a pill in his mouth. His chakra spiked and quickly blocked a sword strike from Kazumi with a kunai, and pushed her back with his increased strength.

"Unfortunately for you, Kazumi," Kabuto began as the last of his wounds healed, "Fighting me will not be so easy." He finished. His hand was engulfled in a blue aura and he dashed at Kazumi with renewed vigor.

"You should know by now, Kabuto. Charging at me is a really dumb mistake!" Kazumi responded, taking up a fighting stance with her sword at the ready.

* * *

Bone and steel clashed repeatedly as Kimimaro and Naruto engaged in close quarters combat.

"Not bad. Seems you'll put up a better fight than those other Oto-nin I killed." Naruto said with a smirk. Since he was in Sage Mode, forcing Kimimaro back wasn't much of a problem, but when the bone-wielding shinobi struck back, Naruto was kept on his toes.

_'Damn, he's fast and his strikes are deadly and precise. He's definitely in a different class than the other Oto shinobi.'_ Naruto thought to himself. It was taking almost all he had to avoid being fatally stabbed.

* * *

As the two sannin clashed, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel that something was off about Orochimaru. His movements were considerably slower, his attacks weren't as sharp, and his techniques didn't pack much of a punch. Jiraiya always figured he would have to tread lightly when fighting Orochimaru, but right now, he was controlling the pace of the fight.

Orochimaru dashed around Jiraiya, trying to disorient him, and when he thought he was successful, he stretched his arm and went for a punch. Jiraiya lengthened his hair to cover himself completely, then he sharpened his hair and shot the needle-like hair out at Orochimaru.

Even more jarring for Jiraiya was that Orochimaru actually got tagged by a decent number of the hardened needle-like hair. Normally, a technique like that would only be a feint.

_'Now I know something's up. I'm barely even trying now.'_ Jiraiya thought to himself.

"What's wrong, Orochimaru? No snakes today?" Jiraiya asked tauntingly. He legitimately was wondering why Orochimaru hadn't summoned any snakes.

Orochimaru only chuckled.

_'Yup. Definitely something wrong with him. That or he's not the real Orochimaru.'_ The idea wasn't so far-fetched when Orochimaru was involved.

Jiraiya sighed in frustration. Everything was pointing toward that second option. The real Orochimaru probably wasn't even there anymore. It had been quite a while since Orochimaru set up camp in Ta no Kuni, now renamed Oto no Kuni, so it was well within the realm of possibility that the snake summoning sannin simply moved on to another hideout, meaning that this mission didn't accomplish much of anything.

Regardless, this fake-Orochimaru in front of Jiraiya was about to lose some vital parts of his body. Frustration will do that to a guy.

* * *

In the short time Kazumi knew Kabuto from her time as one of Orochimaru's elites, she was well aware that the medic-nin was Orochimaru's right hand man. He certainly wouldn't be given that position if was a slouch in battle, so why was she having such an easy time dancing around his attacks.

Kazumi knew not to let Kabuto lay even a finger on you, because with his vast knowledge in medical ninjutsu, he would sever tendons by simply swiping your leg or stop your heart by messing with your arteries. In short, he was a very capable fighter who was skilled in various aspects, but one wouldn't be able to guess that going by how Kazumi was making him look like a joke.

It was that very reason that brought Kazumi to the conclusion that she wasn't fighting Kabuto. She knew enough of Kabuto's abilities to know that he could do a ton of shit that made absolutely no sense unless you were Kabuto, himself, or Orochimaru. When she did know him, Kazumi would always hear Kabuto saying, "When you have access to a person's DNA, so many windows will open."

_'Oh man, at the time I just thought he was an insane, mad, scientist.'_ Kazumi thought to herself as she avoided one of Kabuto's Chakra Scapel strikes and countered with a quick slash of her sword that had Kabuto recoiling in pain.

_'Well, time to end this.'_ Kazumi thought to herself as she followed up on her sword strike with rapid slashes. Whenever Kabuto tried to retaliate, she would simply dance around his attack and keep slashing at him. Blood was flowing freely from Kabuto as the all the punishment was getting to him. Finally, Kazumi stabbed Kabuto through the heart. She watched as the life left his eyes and fell to the ground.

Seconds after he fell, 'Kabuto' became some person she didn't recognize.

_'Should've figured as much. Kabuto's such a freak.'_ Kazumi sighed. She turned her attention to where Jiraiya was promptly handing what she assumed to be a fake Orochimaru his pale, white ass to himself on a golden platter. Then, she looked over to where Naruto was fighting who she recognized as Kimimaro.

Her eyes widened. _'Naruto's fighting Bonezilla?'_

* * *

Jiraiya dodged a swing from Orochimaru, whom over extended and left himself open. Jiraiya easily punished with a dual Rasengan to the chest that sent Orochimaru skidding through the clearing until he slammed into a tree. Orochimaru slumped against the tree, looking rather dead.

"What? Aren't you even going to do that nasty little thing where you spit out new body? Oh, come on!" Jiraiya said with his voice becoming increasingly louder and higher pitched. Then, he saw Orochimaru's body change into some random mook. "Big surprise." Jiraiya commented sarcastically.

* * *

"Dance of the Camelia." Kimimaro modified one of his upper arm bones and created a short, bone-hilted sword. Then, he dashed at Naruto, stabbing at him chaotically and rapidly, forcing Naruto to stay on the defensive and not leaving him any room for a counter.

Naruto did his absolute best to block and dodge each of Kimimaro's unpredictable strikes, but the bone-wielding man's technique, unpredictability, and speed were overwhelming. Naruto was stabbed several times before he decided to put some much needed distance between himself and his opponent.

Blood fell from the wounds on his arms and upper body. Naruto growled lowly to himself. He stabbed Kubikiribōchō into the ground and crossed his fingers, creating a dozen Shadow Clones, throwing two Fire Clones into the mix.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kazumi approaching. "Kazumi, there's more Oto-nin in the base. Remember what I told you earlier? I can take care of this myself." Naruto said to his Anbu partner. He could see her hesitating, so he turned to her and smirked, "Trust me. I can handle this."

That did well to assure Kazumi, so she went to where Jiraiya was and told him what Naruto told her. Together, they went inside the base.

"You fight with honor. That is very admirable." Kimimaro remarked as he watched Naruto turn down assistance from his teammates.

"Honor has nothing to do with it." Naruto said as he turned back to face Kimimaro, "I just don't want anyone interferring. That's all."

"Is that so? You may come to regret such a foolish decision." Kimimaro replied as a black mark on his chest began spreading all over his body.

Naruto could see that Kimimaro's chakra had become much more powerful with the transformation.

"I guess we'll find that out later, won't we?" Naruto responded. He and his clones swung their wind chakra infused swords in a wide arc, "Wind Style: Wind Cutter Jutsu."

Kimimaro dodged majority of the wind blades, but the ones that did hit him didn't nothing more than leave a very shallow cut on him and push him back.

_'What the hell? That should've done more damage.' _On closer inspection, Naruto realized that chakra was constantly flowing the Kimimaro's bones, and right before he was hit, he gathered even more chakra to the points of impact.

Naruto didn't have much longer to ponder his opponent's abilities as Kimimaro rush in with bones sticking out of his arms.

As Kimimaro got closer, Naruto and his Shadow Clones jumped back, leaving only the Fire Clones. Kimimaro closed in and engaged the Fire Clones. He wasn't doing much other than parrying and countering.

"Dance of the Willow." Kimimaro swiftly took out each of his attackers. His eyes widened as the two clones burst into flames. He snapped his eyes shot and covered his body with his arms.

Naruto and his Shadow Clones smirked as they lifted their swords and let out a powerful wind slash that cut through the fire and slammed into Kimimaro. Naruto and one of his clones took advantage of the knock-back, and they each Burst Stepped forward with a Rasengan in their hand. They slammed it into Kimimaro and watched with satisfaction as he was sent flying out of the clearing and into the forest.

Naruto dispelled his clones to gain their remaining chakra and gave chase. Unless Naruto saw Kimimaro's dead body, he was alive as far as Naruto was concerned.

When Naruto located his opponent's body, Kimimaro was just lying there, unmoving. He _looked_ dead or at the very least, unconscious. Naruto guessed it was the latter, since chakra was still flowing through Kimimaro's body.

Naruto formed another Rasengan and walked over to Kimimaro slowly. When it didn't look like Kimimaro was going do anything, Naruto slammed the Rasengan down on Kimimaro.

He was definitely shocked when bones shot out from Kimimaro's chest and grabbed his arm before he could make contact with the Rasengan. He struggled to break free, but Kimimaro's hold was too strong. Kimimaro then formed a sharp bone from his hand, aimed for Naruto's heart, and stabbed.

Naruto was able to shift slightly to avoid being killed, but he was still stabbed. He shrugged off the pain and quickly situated Kubikiribōchō in his left hand, he gathered wind chakra to the blade and slammed it down, aiming for Kimimaro's head. The bone-wielding shinobi quickly released Naruto and rolled out of the way.

Naruto really just wanted to drop a Scorch Bomb on Kimimaro, but by the looks of it, Kimimaro would never give him the time needed to charge it up.

_'I really need to train my Scorch Style.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

_'Everyone is given life for a purpose. Life is about discovering what that purpose is, and using the gifts you have to support that purpose.'_ Kimimaro thought to himself as he began undergoing another transformation. His skin became a light brown, his eyes turned black with yellow pupils, black marks formed around his eyes, bones sprouted from his back, and strangely enough, he grew a tail. _'...Yes, that is the only freedom we are given as human beings. My purpose is to serve Lord Orochimaru, and protect his ambitions. I will not allow anyone to stand in his way.'_

Naruto dispelled another one of his nature chakra-gathering clones, and restored his Sage Mode. Naruto gathered fire and wind chakra to Kubikiribōchō and slammed his sword in the ground, releasing a powerful fiery tornado that engulfed Kimimaro.

Suddenly, a long bone whip flew from the fire and wrapped around Naruto, tearing into him and forcing him to drop his sword. Naruto's confusion quickly turned to shock as he realized that Kimimaro must have pulled out his spine.

From the flames, Kimimaro walked out, holding the spinal whip, with a massive spear-like weapon that completely encased his left arm. Severe burns marred his body, but he carried on, charging at Naruto.

Naruto managed to free his right hand. He formed a Rasengan and slammed it into the ground to kick up a cloud of dust, dirt, and grass, obscuring him from Kimimaro's vision.

Kimimaro felt his whip go completely loose, signalling that Naruto broke free. When the dust cleared, Naruto was no where in sight, but he could feel a dense, powerful chakra.

Kimimaro realized he was surrounded. Six Narutos jumped out from the trees, holding Scorch Bombs in their hands. The Narutos let them go one at a time, throwing the bombs when they felt they had a legitimate chance of making contact. Kimimaro did well to dodge them, but it was getting harder and harder as his opponents started adapting to his movements. The last one very nearly caught him, but he managed to jump high to avoid it.

"The first strike is always a feint." Kimimaro's head snapped up at the voice. There was another Naruto, holding a much larger Scorch Bomb. By the time Kimimaro turned to face him, Naruto had already thrown the bomb. Kimimaro was caught with his pants down, so to speak, as he was still airborn from avoiding the sixth Scorch Bomb. There was no avoiding it.

Naruto landed out of the blast radius, panting heavily, with blood dripping from his body. Naruto immediately searched for his sword, before cursing to himself.

_'__Kubikirib__ōchō__ was caught in the blast. Fuck, it probably melted.'_ Naruto thought, mentally cursing himself for acting impulsively.

Just as expected, there was nothing but ashes... and melted Kubikiribōchō.

_'That's just fucking great. I destroyed my sword.' _Naruto thought to himself. _'Zabuza's probably pissing himself from laughing too hard if he's watching right now.'_

Naruto took a moment of silence to remember the good times with Kubikiribōchō.

"Looks like you did it, fox-boy, but you totally got worked over for a bit if that blood is any indication." Kazumi said with a smile as she walked up to Naruto. Then, she saw a small piece of what looked like Kubikiribōchō's hilt on the ground. "Oh, you're sword... I remember when my first sword was destroyed. It was like my baby. I even named her. I called her Swiss."

Then Kazumi smiled brightly as if she just thought of something. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of fruit snacks. "Here! This should cheer you up!" Kazumi stated as she placed the snack in Naruto's palm.

Naruto shot Kazumi a strange look, before looking at the snack in his hand. He shrugged, tore open the pack, and popped three of the fruit snacks in his mouth.

"Strangely enough, I actually feel a bit better." Naruto said with a small smile as he continued eating the snacks.

"Come on, brats. Let's go back home." Jiraiya called out from back in the clearing.

"You coming, fox-boy?" Kazumi asked as she began walking. She pulled out another pack of fruit snacks from her other pocket, and began eating them.

"Right behind you." Naruto replied with a bunch of fruit snacks in his mouth, so it was hard to understand what he just said. His wounds, thankfully, were already starting to heal. To speed up the recovery, Naruto dispelled another of the nature chakra-gathering clones.

Kazumi just giggled at his slurred speech, and the two walked side-by-side out of the forest, enjoying the same delicious snack.

**Nice long chapter for the conclusion of the mission. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I definitely loved this one, so I hope you guys feel the same.**


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